Ellis County was the planned site of a massive cancelled physics project

In the late 1980s, Ellis County was chosen as the site for the Superconducting Super Collider. It was a massive particle physics machine meant to study the building blocks of matter. At its peak the project employed about 2,100 people. Workers dug tunnels and built facilities south of Waxahachie before Congress cut funding in 1993.

The cancellation left unfinished tunnels underground. The site has been used for other purposes since then. This is a well-known part of Ellis County's recent history. It shows how a big federal project can quickly reshape a local economy — and how fast that can reverse.