Lott is a city in Falls County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 644. Water tower in Lott Texas

History

The Texas Townsite Company bought the land in 1889. When the

San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway first began operation in the U.S. state of Texas in 1886. It was developed by Uriah Lott and businessmen of San Antonio as a direct route from the city to Aransas Bay on the Texas Gulf coast. It was eventu ...

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 20th century when the town developed into a well-known speed trap, securing the town's primary revenue source to the present day. 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 to make ends meet, although the Public Works Administration and the Works Progress provided some residents with jobs on street and water works. Cotton and corn were for many years the staple crops of area farmers, but government subsidies encouraged diversification into stock raising and truck farming. The population of the community was reported as 921 in the 1930s; it rose to 1,021 in the 1940s, but fell to 956 by the early 1950s. Lott lost its rail service in 1967, when the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

abandoned the section of track between

Waco Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 population of 146,608, making i ...

and

Rosebud Rosebud may refer to: * Rose bud, the bud of a rose flower Arts * The name of Jerry Garcia's guitar from 1990 until his death in 1995 * In the 1941 film ''Citizen Kane'', the last words of Charles Foster Kane and an overall plot device * "Roseb ...

. Population estimates for Lott fluctuated between 750 and 950 residents from the 1960s through the 1980s, and the number of businesses fell steadily, from 45 in the 1940s to 12 in the 1980s. Thirteen businesses and 828 residents were reported in Lott at the end of the 1980s. In 1990, its population was estimated at 775. In June 2015, a TV station reported that the cities of Calvert,

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

, Hearne, and Lott in a "Texas Triangle" were using their police departments to issue numerous speeding tickets to turn their municipal court into a "cash cow".Judge says he quit over speeding ticket quota; WFAA 8 TV; June 3, 2015.
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Geography

Lott is located southwest of the center of Falls County on high ground between the north-flowing Little Deer Creek and the south-flowing Cottonwood Creek, both tributaries of the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

U.S. Route 77 U.S. Route 77 (US 77) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway which extends for in the central United States. As of 2005, Its southern terminus is in Brownsville, Texas, at Veteran's International Bridge on the U.S.-Mexico borde ...

passes through the city, leading north to

and south to

Cameron Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born 19 ...

Texas State Highway 320 State Highway 320 (SH 320) is a short Texas state highway that runs from SH 53 near Zabcikville north to SH 7 west of Marlin. This route was designated on October 24, 1939. Route description SH 320 begins at a junction with SH 53. It head ...

crosses US 77 at the west edge of downtown; it leads northeast to

Marlin Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes between 9 and 11 species, depending on the taxonomic authority. Name The family's common name is thought to derive from their resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike. Taxonomy T ...

and southwest to Zabcikville. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city of Lott has a total area of , of which , or 1.40%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 644 people, 243 households, and 139 families residing in the city. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 724 people, 299 households, and 196 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 343 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 71.69%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 20.99%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.14% Asian, 4.97% from other races, and 2.21% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 9.25% of the population. There were 299 households, out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 22.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.07. In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.0% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,875, and the median income for a family was $27,500. Males had a median income of $25,556 versus $19,318 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $10,650. About 27.1% of families and 27.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 32.2% of those under age 18 and 25.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of Lott is served by the Rosebud-Lott Independent School District.

Photo gallery

Image:Downtown Lott 2 Wiki (1 of 1).jpg, Downtown Lott, Texas Image:United Methodist Church Lott Wiki (1 of 1).jpg, United Methodist Church

References

External links

{{authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Falls County, Texas