Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: The First United Methodist Church of Bagdad traces its roots to a brush arbor in 1830. Dr. John Wesley Talley, a former missionary to the Choctaws, delivered the first sermons beside the Blackwater River and earned a $13 salary that first year. In 1837, the congregation erected a small wooden church building at the site, but it was destroyed by fire in the early 1880s. Construction of a new sanctuary began in 1885 on property provided by members W.H. Sindorf, H. W. Thompson, and W.A. Watson, who were partners in the Bagdad Sash and Blind Factory. The Rev. E.E. Cowan conducted the first worship service in the unfinished building that same year. Charles H. Overman drew the architectural design for the new church, and A.J. Brown led the construction. Brown later became the first Sunday School Superintendent. Built with choice lumber from the Bagdad mills, the church’s shiplap siding was attached with square-cut nails. With funds raised by the Ladies Aid Society, electricity was added in 1909. The church bell was replaced in 1912, after a lightning strike. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 as a contributing building in the Bagdad Village Historic District.