Former site of Marks Ranch inside Barker Reservoir in 2016

Relocated Little Country Church 

LH7 Ranch Texas Historical Commission Marker 

Repurposed historic church 

Little country church on the prairie 

New residential development at Marks Ranch site 

MARKS LH7 RANCH site raized to make way for residential development

The sun is setting on what used to be Marks Ranch (LH7 Ranch) in Barker, TX

LH7 Ranch site prior to Developers and construction equipment moving in
Church in background

LH7 Ranch Texas Historical Commission Marker
Barker TX (near Addicks and Clodine)

Excavation on ranch site to serve as detention pond for development nearby;
historical structures, including a church in the distance (Feb 2014 photo)

BELOW: Site of Marks Ranch as it looked before start of construction

with historical marker and old photos on poster

Marks Ranch historical site in Barker Texas, with interpretive markers

Kingsland Blvd. South of I-10 near Barker-Cypress Rd.
Satellite view of LH7 Marks Ranch site before new development. Ranch buildings still visible on this image. The church seen in the thumbnail pic has been moved closer to Barker-Clodine Road and is being preserved, along with a couple of other old buildings, including Barker Post Office and General Store

Abercrombie Drive at Patterson Road - Bear Creek Community Center and Houston Farm and Ranch Club

Historic West Houston cemeteries and grave sites

Graves of members of German settler families in Bear Creek - Addicks area

The cemetery is US property because it is located on Addicks Reservoir grounds,
a project of the US Army Corps of Engineers

Koch-Schmidt Cemetery Marker with historical background info

Koch-Schmidt Cemetery South of Groeschke Rd is framed by large trees
and almost invisible from the park road to the pavilions, playground, and recreational spaces

Bear Creek / Addicks cemetery on SH-6 at Houston Farm & Ranch Club ground
with historical marker. Unlike two other nearby cemeteries inside the Addicks Reservoir,
this one is still in use.

Enclosed grave site at Beeler Family Memorial Park on Enclave

Beeler Family traces around Addicks and Barker, TX (Energy Corridor)

Beeler Rd - Street sign in George Bush Park at Equestrian Area Parking Lot

Amanda Beeler's leaning grave stone

Beeler Family Cemetery on Enclave Parkway

Pocket Park on Enclave Pkwy with site of old graves 

Little white church on the prairie, little house on the prairie too

Church tower over horizon at site of Marks LH7 Ranch on closed-to-traffic Barker-Clodine Road

Church at former Longhorn Ranch in NW corner of Barker Reservoir near Barker-Cypress

Small-gauge railroad used to run out West to Katy

The LH7 Brand - Texas Longhorn Cattle Ranch once operated in Barker, Texas

George Bush Park was once part of a large cattle ranch. 

Much of the ranch land later became Barker Reservoir, built to hold back water from heavy rains upstream to prevent flooding downstream in the City of Houston. 

The site of the Marks LH7 Ranch buildings today has a historical marker to commemorate its glorious past. Even the Houston Rodeo has its roots here. 

LH7 Ranch Texas Historical Commission Marker

These structures - a church, a general store and post office, and other farm buildings stand on the property today. They may not be original buildings that were part of the Ranch when it was operating, or were moved.
(I converted the digital photo taken 1/3/2013 to black & white to give an historic postcard-like look.) 

Satellite view of LH7 ranch site at Kingsland Blvd. / Barker-Clodine Rd. with small photo of ranch gate
and church building

Barker Reservoir History - A train once ran through the cattle ranching land that is now George Bush Park

Trail access point with interpretive historical marker about former small-gauge railrod near Rugby Fields
in George Bush Park

Also see photographic exploration of hike and bike trail in this part of Bush Park near Flood Canal (click link)

Koch-Schmidt Cemetery (Friedhof in German) - Graves of German settlers in Addicks Reservoir - Graeber deutscher Einwanderer

Historical marker at Koch-Schmidt Cemetery in Addicks Reservoir / Cullen Park. Gedenktafel mit den Namen der hier bestatteten Mitgliedern der Gruenderfamien deutscher Herkunft.

This historical grave site contains the earthly remains of early German immigrants who settled in the Addicks-Bear Creek Area in the 1800's and also founded the Bear Creek German Methodist Church. Names of immigrant families include Adicks, Ankele, Gastmann, Groeschke, Hoffman, Leier, Matzke, Mueller, and Schmidt.  

Pastor's gravestone towering over those of the flock

View of German settler graves through the chain-link fence

Fallen tree with Spanish moss between cemetery and one of the Cullen Park picnic and playground areas (Phase 4)
West Harris County near Groeschke Road / West Houston Airport

The German immigrant families that settled on Bear Creek also founded a German Methodist Church. Its current incarnation has its church building South of the Addicks Reservoir on Highway 6 at Park Row, with spire and weather vane. 

Die deutschen Einwandererfamilien gruendeten auch eine protestantische Gemeinde und errichteten ein Kirchengebaeude. Die heutige Version der Methodistenkirche befindet sich suedlich vom Reservoir einen Block von der heutigen I-10 Autobahn entfernt. Das urspruengliche Gebaeude fiel einer Ueberschwemmung zum Opfer. Um eine Wiederholung zu verhindern, wurde die Kirche ausserhalb des Ueberschwemmungsgebietes wieder-aufgebaut. 

Addicks Texas: Old German Church (United Methodist) Kirche deutscher Einwanderer in West Houston

German Church at Night - Addicks West Houston TX

Steeple of modern version of Addicks-Bear Creek area church founded by German Pioneers in the 1800s

Historical background for church founded by German Immigrants on plaque in front of the Church Building
Historischer Hintergrund zur von deutschen Immigranten gegruendeten Kirche

Addicks United Methodist Church in the shadow of the Highway 6 Overpass
1212 Texas 6 Houston, TX 77084 U.S.A.

Addicks United Methodist Church on SH-6 at Park Row - Sign with worship schedule and motto:
"The Little Church With A Big Heart"
(Kleine Kirche mit grossem Herz)

Addicks United  Methodist - Church founded by German Settlers - on the Google Map
(Satellite view with thumbnail photo)

The church was originally located farther to the North inside what is today Addicks Reservoir, but was destroyed in a flooding. Three cemeteries with the remains of German settlers or their descendants are on reservoir grounds, one at the corner of Highway 6 and Patterson Road, which is still being used and therefore has recent graves, another one off an abandoned road running parallel to North Eldridge (at lower elevation) and the third one -- known as the Koch-Schmidt Cemetery -- is located close to the West Houston Airport South of Groeschke Road in Cullen Park Phase 4 South of the picnic and playground areas.

Addicks Bear Creek Cemetery of German immigrants and their descendants

One of three cemeteries inside what is now Addicks Reservoir. This one, located on the corner of Highway 6 and Patterson Road (near the Houston Farm and Ranch Club facilities), is still in use. The original Methodist Church was located here, but moved South because of the periodic flooding.