Percy C. Ellis was born Nov. 19, 1868, in London, England, the third in a family of 14 children. At the age of 18, he
went to Canada and settled at Winnepeg. In 1889 he moved to Spokane where he worked as a carpenter and in the
1900s went to Palouse where he held the position of assistant postmaster. Later he held the same post at Wardner,
near Coeur d'Alene. After a few years of residence in Wardner, Mr. and Mrs. Ellis located at Stites, Idaho, where Mr.
Ellis became postmaster and established a drug store. He also constructed the Stites and Elk City telephone system.
He started a small variety store at Stites in 1902, the same year the railroad was pushed through to the community.
In 1904, he purchased a drug store and operated that business for 50 years until retiring in 1954.