Downtown in Waco in McLennan County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Site of First Church Building in Waco

First Church Building in Waco Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, October 20, 2025

1. First Church Building in Waco Marker

Inscription.
Near this site about 1850, according to local tradition, worshipers gathered in a simple log house to hear Methodist Minister Joseph P. Sneed deliver a sermon. The house, long since removed, is considered the first Waco church building, and Sneed's followers are credited with founding Waco's first Methodist congregation.

Sneed had previously served as an itinerant Methodist preacher with the Mississippi Conference in Lousiana and Arkansas. After 1851 he remained in Texas and died in Milam County in 1881.

About 1851 the Methodists erected a frame church at Second and Jackson street (2 blocks SW), with Sneed as pastor. That building also served as a Sunday school and was later used by both Baptists and Presbyterians.

In 1858 the Methodists built a brick church at Third and Franklin streets (three blocks west), no longer extant. The congregation moved services back to Second and Jackson streets in 1868 to meet in the new Waco Female College, a Methodist Institute.

In 1879 these Methodists moved to an imposing new structure at Fifth and Jackson streets (five blocks SW). This congregation, known officially

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as First Methodist Church after 1919 and unofficially as the "Mother Church," moved in 1963 to 4901 Cobbs Drive. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986

Erected 1986 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 4783.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1850.

Location. 31° 33.535′ N, 97° 7.45′ W. Marker is in Waco, Texas, in McLennan County. It is in Downtown. It can be reached from Waco Riverwalk west of Webster Ave. On Hike and Bike trail on Brazos River. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Waco TX 76706, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Prairies & Lakes Region.

It is also in the American South.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, October 20, 2025

2. First Church Building in Waco Marker

walking distance of this marker: Site of A.J. Moore High School (approx. 0.2 miles away); Waco Spring (approx. ¼ mile away); The Waco Suspension Bridge (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named Waco Suspension Bridge (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named The Waco Suspension Bridge (approx. ¼ mile away); Going Up The Chisholm Trail (approx. ¼ mile away); St. James United Methodist Church (approx. ¼ mile away); Jacob de Cordova (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Waco.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 23, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 23, 2025, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. This page has been viewed 79 times since then and 27 times this year. Last updated on June 22, 2026, by Joe Lotz of Flower Mound, Texas. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 23, 2025, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.