TX BIOS:  George W. Storey
   Selected and converted.American Memory, Library of Congress.
   
   Washington, 1994.
   
   Preceding element provides place and date of transcription only.
   
   This transcription intended to be 99.95% accurate.
   
   For more information about this text and this American Memory
   collection, refer to accompanying matter.
   
   U.S. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project (Folklore
   Project, Life Histories, 1936-39); Manuscript Division, Library of
   Congress.Copyright status not determined.
   
   00011
   
   FOLKLORE-WHITE PIONEER,
   
   Miss Effie Cowan, P.W.
   
   McLennan County, Texas,
   
   District 8. Life history 2,500
   
   NO OF WORDS
   
   File NO. 240.
   
   Page NO. 1.
   
   REFERENCE.
   
   "Interview with Mr George W. Storey, Lott, Texas.
   
   "I was born at the old Storey home-place near Dodson Wells, Texas in
   1858. My parents Mr and Mrs George W. Storey, came from Alabama in
   1851, settling first in Freestone county, Texas, then moving to a farm
   near Dodson Wells in 1855. This was not far from the village of
   Durango and the present town of Lott, Texas. When my father arrived he
   bought land near Dodson Wells, in the valley , and timber [?] in
   preference to land on the prarie at fifty cents an acre. He paid three
   dollars an acre for the valley land. At that time it was thought the
   prairie land was only good for stock and grazing purposes.
   
   "*1 [DEL: My :DEL] my father transacted his business [ [DEL: in :DEL]
   In the early days *1] sometimes at Durango, the nearest place,
   sometimes at Calvert and as far south as Millican. This was the
   terminal of the railroad [DEL: then :DEL] , before it was built to
   Marlin and Waco. Then , after the railroad reached Marlin , we
   transacted most of our business there with the late Marx [DEL: evy
   :DEL] Levy. Father was buying land and paying for it and often went
   over to Marlin in the late fall or early spring and made arrangements
   with Mr Levy for credit to run the farm and house hold until fall.
   When the crops were harvested , Mr Levy was paid from the produce.
   
   "Father was a blacksmith as well as farmer [DEL: for :DEL] . For many
   years he operated his shop at Durango, [DEL: [?] :DEL] which was near
   our home. He became famous throughout the section for making fine farm
   tools, wagons, etc. He was a Confederate veteran serving in Company A,
   Thirtieth Texas Regiment, which was cammanded by
   
     NOTE: C.12 - 2/11/41 - Texas
     
   00022[DEL: Col. :DEL] Colonel E.J. Gurley. After the war was over ,
   they were neighbors in Falls county. Col. Gurley owned and worked
   farms near the present town of Satin, [DEL: the :DEL] The first
   station on the *2 [DEL: railroad, :DEL] when it came through , was
   named [?] [Gurley?] for Colonel Gurley. [DEL: This was the :DEL] [San
   Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad.*2]
   
   "In 1906 I moved to the town of Lott , Texas where I still reside. I
   paid $200.00 an acre near Lott for the very land which my father
   turned down when he came to Falls county, for fifty cents an acre. I
   have lived here and reared my family. [DEL: my :DEL] My wife, [passed
   away in 1936 . *3] to whom I was married in 1881 [DEL: . :DEL] , *3
   But I will try to give you a little of the history of the town of Lott
   which has been my home since I moved here in 1906.
   
   "Lott is situated in Western Falls County 12 miles west of Marlin, it
   came into existence with the coming of the San Antonio and Aransas
   Pass Railroad. The records show that the first meeting of city
   officials was on December 15th, 1890 , with A.B. Hemphill as mayor,
   and A.L. Butchee, E.C. Gordon, T.J. Ferguson J.E.Jordan and T.E. Glass
   as alderman. L.A. Ferguson was city marshal and J.A. Farrer was
   secretary - treasurer.
   
   "The town was named for Uriah Lott, a civil engineer and builder who
   had much to do with the building of the railroad and its completion.
   According to my memory , quite a lot of difficulties were encountered
   when the railroad was under construction, its purpose being to [DEL:
   [?] :DEL] connect Waco with San Antonio and the Gulf Coast. For
   several months a gap in the road from Lott to Cameron was left
   unclosed. The [DEL: truble :DEL] trouble being financial requirements.
   It was at this time that Mr Lott stepped in and worked, not only to
   [DEL: ontruct :DEL] construct the road but to see that finances were
   available. He made trips to New York to secure funds for investment
   and finally was successful. 00033"District Court records of Falls
   county, also [DEL: Mialm :DEL] Milam County show the following took
   place regarding the right of way. When the surveyors reached Cameron
   from the south, a certain land owner refused to sell the right of way.
   The engineers and railroad authorities relying on the rights as given
   in the constitution regarding "Rights of ways or construction on
   behalf of general public welfare, "went right ahead throwing up the
   right of way on the land in question.
   
   "The district judge, at the demand of the [DEL: owner :DEL] owner's of
   the land , granted an injunction with a view to stopping the engineers
   from "tresspassing". The attorneys [DEL: on the other hand :DEL] for
   the railroad came into Falls county court, of which the late Judge
   Goodrich was judge , laid the facts before him, and he dissolved the
   injunction and the railroad officials continued to operate. It this
   development in the issue the Milam county judge contended that the
   injunction which he had granted was just and valid, so he ordered the
   arrest of the sheriff of Falls county, the late John Ward, for
   contempt of court for intereferring with his orders to enforce the
   injunction.
   
   "At the same time Judge Goodrich of Marlin ruled that the sheriff of
   Milam county, in / his efforts to enforce the injunction , was
   interferring with the "due course of law" and guilty of contempt of
   court. Hence this situation arose in which each sheriff was ordered
   [DEL: o :DEL] to arrest [DEL: each :DEL] the other for contempt of
   court. It was said they did this and often afterwards amused
   themselves and others by relating the incident. The tangle was finally
   ironed out and the gap in the railroad closed, but it delayed the
   completion for two years. 00044"During those two years the trains ran
   from Waco to Lott, (making Lott a sort of terminal, and returned;
   while trains ran from points south to Cameron and returned. Uriah Lott
   was untiring in his efforts to connect the road and when it was
   finally completed in 1892 naturally the town was named for him. Crude
   as were the first days of the town, it is natural that being a
   railroad town this brought people from the surrounding communities
   [DEL: by :DEL] because of the advantages the railroad had to offer in
   those days. In they came from the communities which the railroad had
   passed by.
   
   "These communities suffered from the exit to the railroad towns [DEL:
   these :DEL] . These smaller communities were Durango, Rupee, Carolina,
   Morreville and the less thickly populated areas, such as Landrum on
   the east and Cego and Blevins on the west. Especially did Durango feel
   the effects of the coming of the railroad [DEL: [?] :DEL] [DEL: coming
   :DEL] and it lost its standing as being one of the foremost
   communities due to the loss of many of its citizens.
   
   "The nearest community which was completely wiped out by the coming of
   the iron horse was old Rupee, which was an active community from 1886
   to 1890. This place was located about two miles south of the present
   town of Lott near Pond Creek. There was a post office there. Dr A.F.
   Belo, Dr H.E. Whatley and Dr Stone were the physicians. Dr Belo had a
   store. Other of this [DEL: communities :DEL] community's citizens were
   the Lehmans, parents of the Lehmans of Rosebud, Val Moore family, the
   E.J. Daffin family, James Hodges George Hodges family and T.F. Glass
   who married Miss Alice Hodges, daughter fo G.A. Hodges. Also the
   Killens, the L.A. Mc Creary family and others. These families moved to
   Lott, Travis, Rosebud and Chilton, towns [DEL: of :DEL] on the
   railroad. 00055"Some of these early families passed completly from
   Falls county. Dr Belo (Brother of A.H. Belo of Dallas of Dallas news
   fame) moved back to his old home in Alabama where he passed away
   several years later. It is difficult to name all the first families
   who came to this new town of the nineties, because there were so many.
   Lott sprang up quickly and in almost three years after the coming of
   the railroad it became one of the foremost towns Falls [DEL: counties
   foremost towns :DEL] county. So the town [DEL: ecame :DEL] became a
   commercial center on the west of the Brazos for a radius of the area
   round about.
   
   "Among the most outstanding men who helped to build the town is R.W.
   King, who still lives in Lott. He too, was on the ground when the
   railroad was completed and the first through trains came thro' town.
   He was the foreman of the construction company that finished the gap
   between Lott and Cameron. He also was in charge of the construction of
   the station house. * For awhile he roomed with the depot agent in the
   station house when it was [DEL: [?] :DEL] completed and the rail road
   agent took charge, as there were robberies in those days of the depot
   agents money.
   
     NOTE: over
     
   "Mr King was also in [DEL: chge :DEL] charge of building the [DEL:
   tation :DEL] station house at Chilton, and it is worthy of note that
   many buildings stand today in the townof Lott and Chilton, as
   reminders of Mr [DEL: Kings :DEL] King's working days when he worked
   at the trade of building contractor. He built the present building of
   the Carolina Masonic Lodge, several of the business houses, the
   Baptist church, the Methodist church, the old Church of Christ
   building, the old two-story wood building which gave way in 1904 to
   the newer structure to be replaced in 1935 by the present modern
   building. 0006When the depot was completed, he roomed for a short
   time, with the agent because there were so many robberies of safes in
   the agents offices.
   
   00076
   
   "Another pioneer man was Dr M.A. Hayes whose early days were spent at
   old Rupee prior to 1890 after which he [DEL: movee :DEL] moved to the
   Lott community where he is still practicing [DEL: and practices :DEL]
   medicine [DEL: in the town now :DEL] . He recollects riding one of the
   early passenger trains from Lott to [DEL: Wacp :DEL] Waco on the first
   day of March 1890. It was before the Lott Cameron gap was closed. He
   has good reason [DEL: for remembering :DEL] to remember this train
   trip , for he rode [DEL: [?] :DEL] to Waco to get a liscense to marry
   Miss Cora Scott of Travis . This town was not far from where he lived
   at old Rupee . [DEL: [?] :DEL] there was no Travis then since the
   railroad had only been built thro' the country where later the
   railroad made the staion of Travis. Miss Cora Scott was the daughter
   of "Grandma" [DEL: scott who :DEL] Scott. Grandma Scott passed away in
   1938 , only a few months before she would have become a centenarian,
   and she was a sister of the late Judge Sam Scott of Waco, Texas.
   
   "Another interesting experience in the early train riding days was
   related by the late Mrs [DEL: ordon :DEL] Gordon Gaither of Chilton.
   She related that while teaching at Durango, she had occasion to go to
   Waco and the trains had just begun running between Lott and that city.
   "When we reached Lott it was a new place and a new name, the only
   station was a shack in the middle of the road, before the depot was
   [DEL: buit :DEL] built. Nothing but working men were there, who looked
   rough and not so inviting to a lone young woman expecting to ride
   through the blank prairie and dense woods around Gurley. But railroads
   were supposed to be safe so, away I went -- and had the time of my
   life. After we had ridden about an hour some one called "Chilton,
   Chilton" and I looked out to see more mesquite bushes"!
   00087"Progressive citizens in the early days of Lott formed a stock
   company and built and operated a flour mill in Lott. This was about
   the year 1896. The directors were A. [DEL: [?] :DEL] Poulson, J.H.
   English, Dr Gordon, C.L. Trice and A. Patton. Mr Poulson tells the
   story of how he and Mr Patton were scheduled to go to Westphalia
   Wetphalia and sell stock in the mill and how it turned out to be a
   record-breaking cold day , that Febuary of 1896. It was one of the few
   times the temperature went far below freezing and approached zero. He
   [DEL: reted :DEL] related how , when he reached home and took off his
   overcoat , the rain and moisture had frozen on it and , when he stood
   it on the floor , it stood there like a scarecrow.
   
   "As the years roll by it is sometimes difficult to be positive who
   were proprietors of the first retail stores. Henry Seward, now living
   at Waco perhaps first conducted one of the first retail stores in
   Lott. J.H. English also had a store and Poulson Brothers opened a
   saddle and [DEL: ness :DEL] harness shop in June 1891. Other facts
   compiled from the records show that J.C. Calvert had the first eating
   place located in a tent. Peter Norman had the first cafe. J.R. Strange
   owned the first dry goods and grocery store. S.J. Crump had the first
   drug store. He was also [DEL: Lotts :DEL] the first postmaster [ at
   Lott?]. D.T. Williamson had the first barber shop. Threadgill and
   Barnett was the first implement company. Chas.L. Trice the first
   hardware store. Southwell and Warwick had the first livery stable.
   
   "[DEL: ther :DEL] Other business houses numbered among the first were
   Mr Hill of Waco, who published [DEL: Lotts :DEL] the first newspaper [
   in Lott.?] Lott Water works was first constructed by donations and
   stock from Lott citizens. Mrs A.G. Minter operated the [DEL: [?] :DEL]
   first hotel. 00098"The first bank established in Lott was in 1897,
   located temporarily in [DEL: Ligons :DEL] Ligon's Drug Store. J.R.
   Southwell opened the first market in Lott. School began in 1890 with
   Miss Annie Pearsall and Miss Addie Pearsall as teachers. H.R. Gwyn and
   Mrs Della Roberts were among the first students. The Lott Baptist
   Church was organized in May of 1890 [DEL: according :DEL] . According
   to the minutes of the church , the following enrolled as members: Mr
   D.J. Barnes of Durango, M.L. Moore of Little Deer Creek. [DEL: [?]
   :DEL] Mesdames M.L. Hamilton and Lula Norville of [DEL: ittle :DEL]
   Little Deer creek, George H. Hale of El Dorado church, James and A.
   Calvert of Chilton, and [DEL: Sister :DEL] Mrs. Addie Ferguson of
   Popular Springs Church.
   
   "There was a general merchandise store operated by W.D. Lancaster, a
   Confederate veteran and charter member of the Old Settlers and
   Confederate Veterans Association. This organization was organized at
   Lott on July 4th, 1908, according to the minute's of the association.
   Its charter members included many of [DEL: Lotts :DEL] the active
   citizens of Lott of that day. All of these charter members have passed
   on except T.G. Peters, who still lives at Lott and Forrest Gaither who
   lived at Chilton at the time , but [DEL: no :DEL] now lives in Waco.
   
   "The people of Lott were known in all parts of the county for their
   activities in politics and social gatherings. It was the home of many
   of the [DEL: of Falls counties :DEL] old settlers and Confederate
   veterans of Falls County and annual meetings were held. These meetings
   were the forerunner of the "Old Settlers and Confederate Veterans
   Association of Falls County", now meeting annually at the reunion
   grounds at Tomilson Hill. 00109"In the year 1892 , the Masonic Lodge
   was located at [DEL: [?] :DEL] Lott. This Lodge (NO. 330) was
   organized at Carolina in [DEL: the years 1970 :DEL] 1880. This Lodge
   organized and began its meetings in the upper story of a building
   which was also used as a [DEL: Presbyrterian cunrch :DEL] Presbyterian
   church and schoolhouse. Some of the charter members and early members
   were, Robert Morris Key, to whom the dispensation of Carolina lodge
   was delivered until the meeting of the next Grand Lodge which gave
   this lodge its charter. Robert Morris Key was the first Master of the
   lodge; J.D. [DEL: [?] :DEL] [?], Senior Warden ; and A.G. Mitchell,
   Junior Warden. Other early members were Geo. W. Storey, James H. Ball,
   Andrew Daffin, D.M. Currie, W.T. Wiggin, J.J. Rogers, J.A. Gardner,
   James Jordan and others.
   
   "This lodge found most of its members in 1886-87 living in the [DEL:
   communit :DEL] community of Rupee, Texas, (now known as the Live Oak
   community), where Dr Belo had a store. So it was then moved from
   Carolina to Rupee. Other members at this time were A.F. Belo, M.A.
   Hayes, P.P. Hodges, Mr Priest and others. In the year that the town of
   Lott began , many of its members moved to Lott, and as the town grew
   there were many members from Durango and they all decided to move the
   Lodge, to Lott in 1892. But to this day it is known as Carolina Lodge
   NO.330. A.F.& A.M.
   
   "This lodge has in its keeping some very old relics which [?] it
   prizes very highly, among these is [DEL: consisting of :DEL] one piece
   of station furniture used by the Masters of the early Carolina Lodge ,
   also there are several old homemade rawhide bottom chairs, a long tin
   horn with which the early members used to call the assembly together
   During the month of October 1938 , this horn bron was used in the old
   way. Also 001110in the keeping of this lodge are two old kerosene
   lamps [DEL: (oil) :DEL] used in the days of its first meetings. This
   lodge also has a first minute book which records the early
   transactions and names of its members.
   
   "The sketch would not be complete without mention of the progress in
   the schools in Lott from a little one-teacher school to the present
   Elementary and High school faculty of fiteen teachers and a negro
   school with three teachers. The district now has an area of 22 1/2
   square miles and property valuation if $773.000. There are levies of
   50¢ on the $100 valuation for bonds and maintenance.
   
   "The people of Lott in the early days had to use water from wells,
   this inconvenience spurred the demand for adequate water-works and in
   1892 the city gave forty acres of land / upon which to construct
   lakes, provided some reliable firm would develop it and establish a
   public water works system. The citizens met the requirements and a
   stock company was formed ; stock was sold to provide funds. The first
   director's were Dr C.C. Gordon G.R. Threadgill, John Knox, A. Poulson,
   C.L. Trice, and J.H. English.
   
   "The lake was constructed between the hills north and east of town, a
   steam pump plant was installed, mains were laid liad and a wooden
   water tank was built where the stool tank stands today. Lott had
   water. About the time the new water works were ready to go into
   operation , Mr Threadgill bought the stock and operated the system for
   awhile selling it to Tom Ferguson who in turn sold it to the late T.F.
   Glass. Mr Glass managed it until it was purchased by the city and
   operated as a public utility.

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