But where exactly was Ellis located? A marker showing the
location of Ellis, the Central Pacific coaling station that
preceded Tracy from 1869 to 1878, has been a long time coming.
Now, after five years of research, field trips and discussions,
erecting a concrete Ellis monument on Tracy’s western edge is
getting closer to reality. Members of the Historical Landmark
Committee of the West Side Pioneers met recently to push their
long-stalled plan to place an obelisk — a concrete pyramid-style
monument — somewhere along the original Schulte Road somewhere
between Corral Hollow and Lammers roads. Pete Mitracos, a
committee member and city planning commissioner, told the group
at its recent meeting that he would contact the city planning
department to determine the steps needed to erect the monument
alongside the road. “We feel that there should be something to
indicate the location of the small railroad village that existed
for nine years before Tracy was founded in 1878,” he said. “It’s
taken a while to get thi