W. J. "Ed" and Mary Elizabeth Lott House

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of the W. J. 'Ed' and Mary Elizabeth Lott House. The Lott family put down roots in Goliad County back in 1845, and once a family like that sinks in, they tend to stay.

Walter Jerome 'Ed' Lott was a prominent area cattleman, the kind of man who knew land and knew cattle, and in 1878 he and his wife Mary Elizabeth, born a Stephens, purchased a particular piece of property. Now this wasn't just any patch of ground. It was originally part of Mission Rosario lands, and if those acres could talk, they'd have quite a tale of their own.

But the Lotts weren't finished with it yet. Come 1887 and into 1888, they built themselves a vernacular Queen Anne house right there on that property, and they attached it to an I-house that had already been standing since about 1875. The centerpiece of it all, the thing you'd notice first walking up, is that wraparound porch with eight full bays.

Eight. That's not a porch, that's a statement. And the remarkable part, the part that really lands, is that the house has been occupied by five generations of the Lott family for more than a hundred years.

They planted themselves in Goliad County in 1845, and they simply never left.

What the marker says

The Lott family settled in Goliad County in 1845. Walter Jerome "Ed" Lott, a prominent area cattleman, and his wife Mary Elizabeth (Stephens) purchased this property, originally part of Mission Rosario lands, in 1878. The Lotts built this vernacular Queen Anne house in 1887-88, attaching it to an I-house built about 1875. Its features include an 8-bay wraparound porch. The house has been occupied by five generations of the Lott family for more than 100 years. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1996