Frank Stringfellow continued to employ his legendary ingenuity and sense of humor to the challenges he faced as a minister. But there is no better example than his achievements as a rainmaker in Boydton. In 1903, at age 63, he arrived in the little town of Boydton in southside Virginia to pastor Saint James Episcopal Church. However the church had no rectory to house Stringfellow and his wife and children. Therefore, he arrived first and quickly devised a plan for erecting a rectory. 

Initially he built a one-story structure, later to be the barn, and portioned off a section for his faithful horse, separating the animal’s stall from his own quarters by a windowed wall. Then, he had a photographer snap his picture standing on his side of the wall waving through the window to his horse.

 The clever former spy mailed hundreds of these photographs to everyone he knew—friends, Confederate veterans, and churches—with a solicitation for funds to build a rectory for Saint James so that its minister would not have to sleep under the same roof with his horse! Needless to say, he succeeded in building the rectory. 

The church records from 1905 state, “A first class rectory has been erected at a cost of $2,525. The work was done by students from a school in nearby Lawrenceville. The value of the house is $3,000. Much was given towards it. The Southern Railroad kindly agreed to move all the carloads of materials at half price.” 

One assumes that the students probably stayed in the barn during construction. And Stringfellow could not have possibility found a more convenient location for delivering materials to the building site. The house went up just a few feet from the railroad track. Unfortunately this handsome and remarkable house no longer stands. 

However, Mrs. Amelia Hitchings from Norfolk, who lived in the house, was so fascinated by the Reverend Stringfellow that she penned a book “In the House of the Spy.” In 1988 the Cape Henry Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy placed a plaque in the church to honor Reverend Stringfellow. It reads:

 To the glory of God and in memory of Benjamin Franklin Stringfellow 1840-1913

Captain C.S.A. 1861-1865

Chaplain U. S. Volunteers Fourth Virginia Regiment 1898

Minister of this church 1903-1905

Several years ago this author had the opportunity to walk around St. James Episcopal Church, a beautiful little brick church nestled under huge trees with a cemetery dating back to 1840. It is always a privilege and an inspiration to walk in the footsteps of Frank Stringfellow, and to imagine the impact he had on lives and the service he must have rendered to countless others.*

 *The News Progress, Sept. 21, 1988

The United Daughters of the Confederacy Magazine 1988, “Frank Stringfellow: Spy, Priest, Builder”