Westcott

Westcott is on U.S. Highway 59 fifty-five miles north of Houston in southern San Jacinto County. The site was first settled by John Stephens. Westcott residents relied on the post office at nearby Shepherd and did most of their trading at either Shepherd or Cleveland, in northern Liberty County. By 1918 the town was shown as a stop on the Houston, East and West Texas Railway. A sawmill operated for a while, and after it closed, new development in the area was evident during the 1960s and 1970s, probably stemming from the settlement's scenic location on the main highway from Houston to the southern half of Lake Livingston, a man-made reservoir completed in 1968. Many community residents also commute to work in Houston. Westcott was still listed as a community in 1990.