Cross Cut, Texas, Brown County. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

Originally called Cross Out, Texas, the town's name changed when the post office opened in 1879. According to legend, the name Cross Out came from the fact that the town was "Across the country and out of the way". It still is.

John Bloodworth, storeowner and first postmaster, is credited with being the town's founder.

The school building stood until 1999 when its deteriorating condition necessitated its demolition.

"I met the couple who restored the church. As is typical in any project, they had their ups and downs including tornado damage. The finished job is really something to be proud of." - Barclay Gibson
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Historical Marker Text

Cross Cut Cemetery

Settlement began in this area of Brown County after the Civil War when several families from southern states moved here. They formed a community, initially known as Cross Out. It became Cross Cut in 1897 when an error was made on a post office application.

Caroline Pentecost Elsberry was the first person buried in this community cemetery in July 1879. The two-acre plot of land dedicated as a graveyard is believed to have been donated by Mark and Sarah Pentecost.

Oil was discovered in 1923 in the Cross Cut sand formation. The small town quickly swelled to accommodate the increase in population and several new businesses were added. By 1940 the population of the town was exceeded by the number of burials in the cemetery. In 1954 the Cross Cut School consolidated with Cross Plains Schools, and the town declined thereafter. Only a few buildings and the cemetery remain.

Among those buried here are early settlers and their descendants, and veterans of conflicts from the Civil War through the Vietnam War. A cemetery association was formed in 1976, and a perpetual care trust was established. The site continues to serve the area.

(1997)

Cross Cut, Texas Forum

• Subject: Cross Cut School
  We received a polite correction from former Cross Cutter - Mr. Norris Chambers, who writes: [The Cross Cut School] "....did not consolidate and close in 1930. I graduated from Cross Cut High School in 1935. It still had a grade school after the war and shortly thereafter merged with Cross Plains. The Cross Cut area is in the Cross Plains school district. I have considerable history about Cross Cut for those interested. Some old Cross Cut stories are on my site: www.norrisc.com "
  "Mr. Chambers' stories are of interest to anyone who is curious about growing up in under-populated Texas in a bygone era. They are a valuable contribution to small town Texas history." - editor
• Subject: Cross Cut Native Sons
  John Limmer wrote a history of Cross Cut and he quotes Louise Newton, wife of Ross Newton, saying this about Robert: "Ross played with Robert Howard, Conan author. He told her Robert was weird even then and he was a little afraid of him as he was making up queer stories - way back then. Dr. Howard, Robert's father, wasn't happy about the stories his son wrote. Dr. Howard delivered most of the babies in town." Ross Newton was the youngest son of pioneer Jim Newton.
  You have a very interesting site.... I happened across it when looking for articles on Cross Cut. Found some pretty interesting things about the old town. Its closest call to fame, other than Robert, was Glen Strange and Curtis McPeeters, who left Cross Cut in the late twenties and worked in the movies. They came back in about 1928 and did a program at the school. They had a band in Arizona and later got in the movies. Glen was Sam the bartender in Gunsmoke in later years. He also did a Frankenstein. McPeeters was Cactus Mack and did 167 bit parts in old westerns. They were cousins and were part of the Byrd family.
  When Lake Brownwood was built and it closed the road to Brownwood, a new road was built farther west. It was not paved until after the war. The road by-passed Cross Cut and left it further isolated. The main road originally was the main street of the little town. ..... - Norris Chambers

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