In
Callahan County, Cross Plains is located southeast of
Abilene toward
Comanche along Hwy 36 near Pecan Bayou and Lake Brownwood.
Robert E. Howard lived in Cross Plains during his most productive writing period.
In 1980 the town had a new high school and post office, two motels, four restaurants, and eight churches. The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad, which absorbed the Texas Central, had abandoned its track in Cross Plains by this time. In 1990 the population was 1,063.