Bandera Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's the marker's own account, and I'm just the voice carryin' it down the road. You're lookin' at the Bandera Methodist Church, and if these limestone walls could talk, they'd have a whole lot to say. Let's start at the beginning, or close enough to it.

The year is 1861, and a man named Reverend John Devilbiss is holdin' services here. Now, this is a man with a resume. He helped found the first Protestant church in San Antonio.

So when Devilbiss showed up in Bandera, he wasn't exactly new to the work. The congregation took shape a few years later. In 1867, Reverend A.J.

Potter organized the church itself, and the charter members read like the founding families of the whole county, the Rughs, the Langfords, the Stevens families. Roots go deep out here. Then comes April 18, 1869, and a man named Daniel Rugh steps up to organize the first Sunday school.

That's a specific date, and the fact that somebody thought to record it tells you how much it meant. The building you see standing today went up in 1880, built by the members themselves under the leadership of B.F. Langford, Sr.

Gothic architecture, hand-cut limestone, oak timbers. These folks weren't just raising a church, they were raising something that was meant to last. The building has been enlarged and remodeled since then, but the marker will tell you plainly: it still retains its original charm.

Some things you just can't remodel away.

What the marker says

Built 1880 by members under leadership of B.F. Langford, Sr. Gothic architecture. Hand-cut limestone, with oak timbers. Though enlarged and remodeled, retains original charm. Rev. John Devilbiss (who helped found first Protestant church in San Antonio) held services here 1861. Church organized 1867 by Rev. A.J. Potter; charter members included Rugh, Langford, Stevens Families. Daniel Rugh organized first Sunday school, April 18, 1869. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967.