 To the southeast of the town, elevation remains constant around 98 meters save for a small east-west range of hills reaching to 110 meters and stretching several miles east of Ellinger.The Ellinger website  claims that Joseph Ehlinger, a French soldier (born in Alsace ) who served under Napoleon, received a portion of land for his services.He retrieved his family from Europe to bring them to this new home and, shortly after, died of drowning near Houston.