DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight with a little room to breathe. The railroad town of Lott was platted in 1890, and that's your starting point — a brand new town, fresh tracks in fresh dirt. By 1892, the area Presbytery had moved in and established the First Presbyterian Church right here.
That same year, under the direction of the Reverend J. W. Siler, they raised up a sanctuary.
Now, you'd think building a church would be the hard part. You would be wrong. In 1893 — just one year later — a tornado came through and destroyed it.
Gone. Just like that. Most folks might've read that as a sign.
This congregation read it as a reason to try again. They did, too. By 1901 they had a second church building standing on this ground.
That one lasted a good while longer. Lasted all the way to 1939, when lightning struck it and fire finished the job. Two churches, two different forces of nature, same result.
At some point you stop callin' it bad luck and start callin' it persistence. Because in 1942 — you guessed it — a third sanctuary was completed right here at this site. And in 1951, they built a manse adjacent to it, putting down roots like they intended to stay this time.
Through all of it — the tornado, the lightning, the fire, the rebuilding — the congregation kept a Ladies Auxiliary and a Sunday School going, and they've continued to be active in national and foreign missionary work. Three sanctuaries, two acts of God, and one congregation that just flat refused to quit. That's the First Presbyterian Church of Lott.
What the marker says
The railroad town of Lott was platted here in 1890 and in 1892 the area Presbytery established this church. A sanctuary, built that year under the direction of the Rev. J. W. Siler, was destroyed by a tornado in 1893. A second church building, erected in 1901, was destroyed by fire after being struck by lightning in 1939. A third sanctuary was completed at this site in 1942 and in 1951 a manse was built adjacent to the sanctuary. The congregation has traditionally supported a Ladies Auxiliary and a Sunday School, and continues to be active in national and foreign missionary activities.