Polly’s Chapel has stood west of Privilege Creek since 1882 — hand-quarried limestone, native cypress framing, and a bell tower set among the oaks. The frontiersman José Policarpio “Polly” Rodríguez built it, and it’s still cared for today.
In 1882, Rev. José Policarpio “Polly” Rodríguez completed this chapel on a gentle rise west of Privilege Creek, facing it east between two existing oaks. It’s one of the quiet, enduring corners of Bandera County — a working chapel built by hand and kept by the people who came after.
The limestone was hand-quarried from the creek and the framing cut from native cypress. The chapel seats 120 under a 14-foot ceiling, with tall Romanesque windows and a raised wooden pulpit. It took Polly and his neighbors three years to finish.
José Policarpio Rodríguez (1829–1914) was a surveyor, army scout, Texas Ranger, judge, rancher, and Methodist minister — a founding figure of Bandera County who built the chapel on his own ranch.
For more than 130 years the chapel has served the community. Today it’s preserved by the Polly Texas Pioneer Association, a nonprofit of descendants and neighbors. Polly Cemetery sits two blocks away on Old School Road, where Polly himself was buried in 1914.
The chapel sits in the ranch country between Pipe Creek and Bandera — easy to fold into a Hill Country trip.
Backroads Hill Country has represented Hill Country rentals since 2001 — cabins and homes around Pipe Creek and Bandera. Backroads ↗
Pipe Creek is the nearest crossroads, and Bandera — the Cowboy Capital — is the anchor town a short drive west.
Pair the chapel with a Medina River drive or a day in Bandera. Plan the route across the HillCountry.ai network.
Polly’s Chapel and its cemetery are kept by volunteers. For visits, weddings, or events, reach the Polly Texas Pioneer Association first.