Cut and Shoot is a city in eastern Montgomery County, Texas, United States, about 6 miles east of Conroe and 40 miles north of Houston. The population was 1,158 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a town; the community only became a city in August 2006.[3]
According to one local legend, Cut and Shoot was named after a 1912 community confrontation that almost led to violence. According to differing versions of the story, the dispute was either over:
* The design of a new steeple for the town's only church,
* The issue of who should be allowed to preach there, or
* The conflicting land claims among church members.
Whatever the circumstances were, a small boy at the scene reportedly declared "I'm going to cut around the corner and shoot through the bushes in a minute!" This statement apparently stayed in the residents' minds and was eventually adopted as the town's name.
The town of Cut and Shoot gained fame when local boxer Roy Harris, a heavyweight contender fought Floyd Patterson for the heavyweight title in 1958. Harris appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and was featured in Life Magazine. So much mail was addressed to "Roy Harris, Cut and Shoot, Texas" that the U. S. Postal Service granted a franchise post office to the town.
Population statistics were not reported for the community until the mid-1970s, when the number of residents was 50. By 1980 the incorporated community reported a population of 809, had a new city hall and supported both a school and several businesses.
