Leander Presbyterian Church
The Leander Presbyterian Church was organized by Rev. R. M. Overstreet on February 14, 1857 in Bagdad, about one mile west of present-day Leander. It was the ninth house of worship to open in Williamson County, but one of the few still remaining today.
Prior to 1857, Rev. R. M. Overstreet visited the community monthly to preach the Gospel. As the area developed, Overstreet visited more often until the Presbyterian Church decided that a more permanent presence was necessary.
The congregation was first named Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church after a former church of the original members from North and South Carolina. The new church met in in the town of Bagdad in a schoolhouse near the property of the first ruling elder, Samuel Carothers. When the new train tracks bypassed Bagdad in 1882, the nearby town of Leander was founded closer to the railroad. The congregation voted to move their church to the new town.
The church building was erected in 1884 on property belonging to church member Sarah J. Walker. She donated the land to the church trustees in 1895. Many descendants of the early members are still active in Leander Presbyterian Church.
Leander United Methodist
The Leander United Methodist church was organized around 1860 in the nearby community of Bagdad. Those first worship services were conducted by local preachers and missionaries in a log cabin style schoolhouse and a Masonic lodge hall before a sanctuary was constructed there in 1879. The church moved to Leander in 1901, following the construction and expansion of the railroad town. The Bagdad sanctuary was relocated physically by a team of mules to its current site on land deeded by Sarah J. Walker. Ms. Walker had also deeded land to the first Presbyterian Church just down the road. Many prominent area leaders have been members here, including several who later became ministers.