Cross Timber

There have been two similarly-named communities located in northern Johnson County. The settlement of Cross Timbers was named for its location on the edge of the western Cross Timbers. The town was settled about 1853, and a post office opened there in 1870. By 1885 the community reported a population of 100, a school and church, and several businesses, including a cotton gin and gristmill. In 1890 Cross Timbers reported a population of 200. Though in 1896 the community school had one teacher with twenty-five students, by 1900 the school apparently no longer existed. Both the Missouri, Kansas and Texas and the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe lines bypassed the settlement in the 1880s. The Cross Timbers post office closed in 1904, and by 1910 the original community had apparently ceased to exist.

The town of Cross Timber is located about ten miles north of Cleburne between State Highway 174 and Farm Road 731. This community took its name from the Cross Timber Farm in the area, and it incorporated in May 1991. City government consists of a mayor and five aldermen. A number of businesses operate in Cross Timber, and the city uses the fire department services of nearby Briaroaks. In 2000 the population was 277.