Ennis is a town in Madison County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 917 at the 2020 census, up from 838 in 2010.
U.S. Route 287 runs through town, following the Madison River as it descends from the town of West Yellowstone.
History
left|thumb|Madison River at Ennis in January
In 1863, gold was discovered in Alder Gulch. This brought on "the rush". Two months later, William Ennis homesteaded the site along the Madison River that was soon to become the town of Ennis, his namesake.
In 1886, a mystery creature was noted for making livestock kills in the Madison Valley. A local rancher, Israel Ammon Hutchins, finally shot and killed the beast, after accidentally shooting one of his cattle, which was on the other side of some brush. A local taxidermist stuffed the canine. Jack Kirby (Hutchins' grandson) tracked the mount to a museum in Pocatello, Idaho, circa 2007.
Avid Aircraft, a manufacturer of homebuilt aircraft, was located in Ennis. The company ceased operations in 2003.
The 2003 Ennis shooting took place on June 14 of that year, when 44-year-old George Harold Davis opened fire outside the Silver Dollar Saloon bar on Main Street. He killed one man and injured six others. He then fled to Missoula County, where he was finally stopped and arrested by police. He was sentenced to eleven life terms for the crime.
The Thexton Ranch is located approximately south of Ennis, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Geography
The town is flanked by the Tobacco Root Mountains to the northwest, the Gravelly Range to the southwest and the Madison Range to the east. Approximately north of town, the Madison Dam creates Ennis Lake at the head of Bear Trap Canyon.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.14%, are water.
|source 2 = National Weather Service