Texas Historical Marker #12208
Keller Methodist Church. From 1886, the Christian denominations of Keller and other areas shared their facilities. Pastor W. K. Simpson served the area when the Keller Methodist Church was organized in 1897. In 1913 the church erected its own building; by 1946, the Rev. R. V. Holt was serving a full-time station with a membership of 136. The congregation acquired new buildings as needed. Renamed the First United Methodist Church of Keller in 1968, the members have brought such programs to the community as Christian Community Storehouse and the Building Blocks Preschool. (1997) #12208
1025 Johnson Road, Keller, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04034
Pioneer Stone Burial Cairns (at Mount Gilead Cemetery). Scattered throughout many of the pioneer cemeteries in Texas are unusual stone structurers, or burial cairns, built by the early settlers to memorialize their dead. Primarily surface structures of native stone, the cairns vary in design and workmanship. Their use, however, is representative of traditional burial customs prevalent in the South during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Although their specific purpose and origin are subject to theory, cairns such as these are outstanding examples of pioneer lore and tradition. #4034
Bancroft Road & J.T. Ottinger, Keller, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03492
Mount Gilead Cemetery. This burial ground originally served a pioneer settlement of related families who migrated to the area from Missouri in 1847 as members of the Peters Colony. They were headed by a widow, Permelia Allen (d. 1866), who is buried here in an unmarked grave. This tract, adjacent to the Mount Gilead Baptist Church and School, was first owned by her sons-in-law Daniel Barcroft (1812-81) and Iraneous Neace (1816-79). The earliest marked gravesite is that of William Joyce (1836-54). Homemade grave markers here reflect the pioneer lifestyle the early settlers. (1981) #3492
Bancroft Road at J.T. Ottinger Rd., Keller, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03490
Mount Gilead Baptist Church. The earliest religious meetings here began in the late 1840s as part of Lonesome Dove Baptist Church. The Mt. Gilead Congregation was chartered in 1850 under the direction of the Rev. John Allen Freeman (1821-1919) with 8 members, including 2 slaves. It was the first church started after the formation of Tarrant County in 1849. Early services were held in homes and in a log schoolhouse at this site on land owned by Daniel Barcroft (1812-81). Except for a time in the late 1870s and early 1880s when meetings were held elsewhere, the church has worshiped at this site. (1981) #3490
SW corner of Bancroft & Ottinger Roads, Keller, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #01643
First Baptist Church of Keller. Founded in 1882 as the Keller Baptist Church, this church was started by twenty former members of Mt. Gilead Baptist Church soon after rail lines reached the area. Early meetings were held in a schoolhouse and then in the Union Church Building. The Rev. Elihu Newton (1845-1925) served as the first Pastor, with R.I. McCain, William J. Prewett and William Crawford as the first Deacons. A charter member of the Tarrant County Baptist Association founded in 1886, the First Baptist Church of Keller continues to faithfully serve God and this community. (1983) #1643
350 Loraine St., Keller, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #00470
Bourland Cemetery. Aurelius Delphus Bourland (1840-1904), a North Carolina native and a veteran of the Civil War, bought land here in 1873. A farmer and Primitive Baptist preacher, he first used this site as a family cemetery. The earliest marked grave is that of his grandson A. Delphus White, who died in 1886. In 1899 Bourland sold 2.5 acres, including the grave sites, to the residents of Keller (1.5 mi SW) for use as a public burial ground. Additional land was given by the families of Bourland in 1947 and A.B. Harmonson (1891-1967) in 1977. The gateway was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1935. (1981) #470
Bourland Rd., Keller, TX, United States