Man Uncovers 'The Real' Texas Chainsaw Massacre

When Tim Harden moved to the Austin area in 1996, he knew he was moving where one of his favorite films was made: “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

It was at that time Harden, 46, set out to fill the void on known information about the real-life filming locations for the cult slasher, made in 1974.

“At the time it wasn’t as big as it is now so there wasn’t information out there about these locations and films so I just got working on it,” Harden told Patch.

He hit it big when one of his co-workers mentioned that her friend would take people out to parties at an abandoned house in Round Rock. Harden thought that the abandoned house could have been, “The Leatherface House” which was used as the main setting for the original chainsaw film.

So, one day he went to explore the house, and found himself face-to-face with the most recognizable location from one of his favorite movies. Harden took pictures of the house and created the first of his three websites dedicated to the film series.

That’s when countless emails started to roll in.

“I was getting tons of feedback from Chainsaw fans, asking about other facts and questions” about the film, he said.

Since then, Harden has dedicated countless hours to answering as many questions about the films as he can on his websites. He also runs a fanclub for the movie series and posts features such as behind the scenes photos and articles that ask, “Where are they now?”

Here are famous Central Texas filming locations from the original “Chainsaw Massacre”:

Leatherface House

The home of the film’s main antagonist, Leatherface, was located on Quick Hill in Round Rock. This house is where most of the scenes in the film were shot and is the most iconic setting. Unfortunately the house is no longer at the original location, but was bought and reconstructed in Kingsland, Texas. Harden says that because of all the development from the nearby La Frontera housing development, the area is almost unrecognizable, except for “big fans.”

The Grandparents’ House

The grandparents’ house in the movie is actually right across the street from the Leatherface house. “In the movie they make it seem really far away, but it’s right there across the road,” Harden said.

The Cemetery

The Cemetery scenes in “Chainsaw Massacre” were filmed in the Bagdad Cemetery in Leander. Harden describes this location as the most unchanged from its original filming conditions. “Those tombstones in the background are very much still there,” he told Patch.

The Road

Much of the film takes place in a van. Harden said that the van scenes were likely shot on what is now road 685 between Pflugerville and Austin. “That’s where all the highway footage was done, but it’s nearly unrecognizable now because of all the development,” Harden said.

One location which nobody has been able to completely confirm is the slaughterhouse, which Harden assumes was located off of 685.

The Gas Station

The Gas Station in the film is located in Bastrop County. Harden says chainsaw fans looking to visit it should take highway 71 to 304. Harden said that the gas station has since been bought by a big fan of the films. “[They’re] remodeling the place to turn it into a texas chainsaw museum place, putting up lodging behind it and will be selling all sort of memorabilia.”

[All photos courtesy of Tim Harden and texaschainsawmassacre.net]