History

Ovilla (pronounced 0-vill-ah) is the home town of the Lee Banjo Company.  Located about ½ hour Southwest of Dallas, Ovilla, on upper Red Oak Creek in northern Ellis County, is the oldest town in the county. It began in 1844 as a fortified settlement and grew as settlers arrived in the area to attend brush arbor meetings of the Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which was started by Rev. Finis E. King in 1847. The church met in a brush arbor until 1853, when a log cabin, which served as both church and schoolhouse, was built. A frame church building was finished in 1872; in 1984 about 190 members still met in the structure, which had been enlarged and remodeled. Although Ovilla was a thriving farming community by the 1850s, it remained unnamed. Mrs. M. M. Molloy, wife of Rev. D. G. Molloy, formed the name from the Spanish word villa. Ovilla continued to grow and by the early 1900s had a post office, a bank, a cotton gin, a pharmacy, a blacksmith shop, and several dry-goods stores. Its post office closed in 1906. Fires in 1918 and 1926 destroyed most of the downtown buildings, and this destruction, together with the fact that Ovilla was bypassed by railroads and major highways, led to a decline in growth. As Dallas grew, however, and people started moving from the city to the suburbs, Ovilla once again began to grow. By 1980 the population had risen to 1,067. Its 1984 population was estimated to be nearly 1,300. In 1990 it was 2,027 and the community had extended into Dallas County.

Our Choice?

Ovilla has a small historical section and can be seen regularly (in re-runs) on the TV production “Walker, Texas Ranger”.  Ovilla is disguised as the Indian Reservation.  Ovilla has a reputation as a charming, pleasant community and we think it is a wonderful name for the classic looks and artwork of our “Ovilla”, home-town banjo model.