Lott

Lott is on U.S. Highway 77 nine miles northwest of Rosebud in west central Falls County. The Texas Townsite Company bought the land in 1889. When the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway was built through the area in 1890, Lott was founded; it was named in honor of Uriah Lott , president of the railroad. A post office was established at the settlement in 1890 with S. J. Crump as postmaster. When the community was incorporated by unanimous vote later that year, its population was estimated at more than 200. By 1892 Lott had Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches, two cotton gins and gristmills, a weekly newspaper, and 350 residents. Its population estimates were as high as 1,200 by the end of the 1890s. Lott continued to prosper throughout the first part of the twentieth century. The First National Bank of Lott was established in 1903, and the Lott State Bank was chartered in 1909. Local businesses did well, and residents were optimistic about the community's future growth. Lott's economy received an additional boost in the 1920s when State Highway 44 (later U.S. 77) built through the community. The Great Depression , however, brought significant changes. In 1933 the First National Bank of Lott went into receivership and did not reopen. During the mid-1930s many local families had to accept government relief in order to make ends meet, although the Public Works Administration and the Works Progress Administration ( see ??WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION ) provided some residents with jobs on street and water works.