Schoenchen Kansas
Schoenchen is the only other town in Ellis County that is incorporated. Schoenchen was a spinoff of one of the earlier settlements.
In 2005, it had a population of 212. It was founded in 1877, a year after four other towns were founded by German Catholic immigrants who left the Volga River region of Russia after their once-guaranteed freedoms had been revoked.
Catharine
The village of Catharine was founded in April 1876, according to the Ellis County Historical Society.
Settlers left Katharinenstadt, Russia, in October 1875. They rejected sites in Barton and Pawnee counties and came to Ellis County instead.
Their home city's name was English-ized somewhat over time, to Catharine --¬sometimes spelled Catherine.
Catharine's early days featured Fred Schmidt's Pool Hall and Bowling Alley, which archives suggest was the first bowling alley in the county.