Ovilla is pronounced like "Oh"-"Ville"-"uh", the two L's are pronounced as a double L (as in village). This city is a suburb of Dallas and it is located on upper Red Oak Creek in northern Ellis County. Texas. With a total area of 5.71 square miles, Ovilla is the oldest town in the county. Founded in 1844 as a fortified settlement known as McNamara's to repel Indian incursions. The first Peters Colony settlers were James McNamara and his wife, Joanna (Hale) McNamara in 1843 on their 640-acre land that made up the beginning of the locale that was later to be called 'Shiloh' for a nearby creek and a newly formed church. They arrived along with other Peters colonists: the Billingsleys; Mrs. McNamara's family, the McCommas's; and James Sterrett (Mrs. McNamara's brother-in-law who established the locale of Sterrett, Texas). James McNamara served as a sergeant in Smith's Company of Texas Mounted Volunteers during the War with Mexico in 1846-1847 along with his brother-in-law, James Sterrett. It was a thriving farming community by the 1850s, and it was Mrs. M. M. Molloy, wife of Rev. D. G. Molloy, who formed the name from the Spanish word villa. Also, to escape annexation by DeSoto or any other neighboring city, the town of Ovilla was incorporated in 1963. A notable person is Boxcar Willie who was born in the area surrounding Ovilla and the overpass at Interstate 35E and FM 664 in Red Oak is named in his memory. Flying B Ranch Airport (TS71) with 1 Runway is also located in Ovilla. Also, it reached a population of 4,114 in 2017.
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