Cross Cut, at the junction of Farm roads 279 and 2940 in northwestern Brown County, was originally called Cross Out because it was across the county and out of the usual way of travel. Its founder was John M. Bloodworth, who opened a store in 1878 and served as the first postmaster. When the post office opened in 1879, the name of the town was changed to Cross Cut. The town remained small during the nineteenth century but grew somewhat in the early 1920s with oil production in the region. The population declined during the Great Depression, and in 1940 Cross Cut had one store and seventy-nine people. Cross Cut's school consolidated with Cross Plains in 1947. By 1980 the population had fallen to forty-five, and the community did not report a population figure in 2000.