Bay's Chapel Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it along just as true. Somewhere in Montgomery County, there's a little Methodist church with deep roots, and I mean deep. Tennessee roots.

The Thomas Bay family were among the settlers who brought their faith with them when they came to Texas, and they didn't let the wilderness slow them down one bit. Back in 1851, they raised up a log church right across the road from where you're probably standing now. That first building pulled double duty, too, serving the community as a school as well as a house of worship.

The land for that original site was donated by A. F. Bay.

Now, that's the kind of generosity that holds a community together. But the story didn't stop there. Decades rolled by, and this congregation kept on keepin' on.

Then in 1899, a new building went up, this one on land given by W. H. Bay, and it was dedicated with all the ceremony that moment deserved.

Two generations of the Bay family, giving ground so their neighbors could gather and pray and learn. That is a legacy with some weight to it. The Thomas Bay family came out of Tennessee with their faith packed tight, and they planted it in Montgomery County soil so well that it's still standing right here, more than a hundred and fifty years later, telling its own story in wood and memory.

What the marker says

Founded by settlers from Tennessee, the Thomas Bay family. First log church (also used as school) was built 1851 across road; site donated by A. F. Bay. This building, on land given by W. H. Bay, was dedicated 1899. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967