Leander United Methodist Church

Bagdad's Methodists built a log church in 1860 east of the Bagdad Cemetery, and the county historical commission says the same building served as a public school from that year. It was replaced in 1879, and the 1879 sanctuary was moved to Leander in 1901, as the plaque says. Bagdad had three churches by 1882. The plaque adds that local preachers and missionaries led the early services, and that a Masonic lodge hall also housed worship before the sanctuary was built. The commission says the lodge doubled as the public school from 1871.

What the plaque says

Leander United Methodist Church This church was organized about 1860 in the nearby community of Bagdad (1 mi. W). Early worship services were conducted by local preachers and missionaries in a log schoolhouse and a Masonic lodge hall before a sanctuary was constructed there in 1879. The church moved to Leander in 1901, following development of the railroad town. The Bagdad sanctuary was relocated at this site on land deeded by Sarah J. Walker. Many prominent area leaders have been members here, including several who later became ministers.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Inner Space Cavern — 10 mi
  A Georgetown cave found in 1963 when highway engineers drilled test holes, holding Pleistocene fossils and 72-degree rooms that visitors reach by an artificial tunnel.
• The Round Rock — 11 mi
  A table-shaped stone in Brushy Creek gave Round Rock its name in 1854; the Chisholm Trail crossed the creek near it, and Old Town stayed behind when the railroad pulled the town east.
• Williamson County Courthouse — 11 mi
  The fifth Williamson County courthouse, a Beaux Arts building by C. H. Page, rises over a Georgetown square of more than 50 Victorian-era buildings.
• Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge: Doeskin Ranch — 13 mi
  A free federal refuge north of Lake Travis kept for two songbirds that need old juniper and oak, with trails at the Doeskin Ranch unit near Bertram.

More markers nearby

• Leander Presbyterian Church — steps away
• Leander — 0.2 mi
• Leander Schools — 0.2 mi
• Norton Moses Lodge No. 336, A.F. & A.M. — 0.7 mi