Batesville’s St. Paul’s Episcopal turns rectory into Airbnb

By Andrea Bruner, White River Now

After the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church clergy house in Batesville went unused for more than six months, church member Fred Krug thought it could be put to better use: short-term vacation rental.

The church’s priest left in January of 2024, and the rectory had sat empty but as a Batesville City Councilman, Krug said he knew there is a real need for overnight/short-term rentals in the city, especially with the Ramada Inn closing.

“City hall and the chamber of commerce get calls about it (hotels and other lodging) all the time,” he said. “So I went to the church council (also called the vestry) and presented this idea to them.”

Reviews from the nine members were mixed, he said, with some enthusiastic but others unsure if this would amount to what Krug hoped.

“But I knew deep down inside we could make this work,” Krug said. “Lyon College football parents stay in Searcy; most of the time the out-of-town teams stay in Searcy” because of the lack of hotel rooms in Batesville, he noted.

Krug said several parishioners donated furniture, and some items were purchased from local antique stores in keeping with the feel of the historic home. However, all the beds and bedding are new, Krug said.

The ladies from the church came in to help decorate and freshen up the home.

“I called on White River Health, Lyon College and several construction companies I knew were coming in here, too,” Krug said, and that helped boost the number of rentals. Soon he was having to turn away prospective lodgers because the house was already booked. In fact, in the month of May there were just a handful of days that the house wasn’t booked.

Krug said he launched the site – called St. Paul’s Place – on Airbnb but also takes reservations locally.

The first rental was Oct. 15, and in just over seven months the church has raised over $13,000 from the rental fees.

“We’ve had two quilting clubs come to stay here from out of state to shop at Marshall’s (fabric store). They were both from Oklahoma,” Krug said.

Recently, the home hosted eight gospel singers who were performing at a church in Cave City.

“We have people coming to family reunions, graduations, weddings and even funerals,” Krug said.

Located on the corner lot across from city hall and the Batesville Post Office, the house is within walking distance of downtown restaurants and shops in a quiet neighborhood. It offers a full kitchen, two full bathrooms (one upstairs and one downstairs), laundry facilities, four large bedrooms all with new queen beds, lots of closet space, free wi-fi, and even a large backyard with playground equipment.

The house is not the first house used by the church as a parsonage. St. Paul’s was founded in 1866, but it was not until 1873 that the local congregation was established. In 1916, the current building used by the church was constructed.

In the book “Worthy of Much Praise, A History of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Batesville, Arkansas, From Its Earliest Beginnings to 1952,” authors Nancy Britton and Dora Le Baker Ferguson wrote, “By the fall of 1929 there were serious problems with the rectory, even though it was less than 30 years old.”

At the time, the new director and his wife arrived and had to stay elsewhere as the rectory was deemed uninhabitable. The rectory committee had decided that a new house should be built on the lot between the church and the old rectory. In February 1930, plans were presented to the congregation, which decided to borrow $4,000 for the construction. The current house was completed by May 1930.

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Ben Linder recalls living at the rectory from 1977 until 1985. He said he was six months old when his father, Mark Linder, was called to St. Paul’s.

“I’ve stayed close with quite a few people from Batesville, and when I go back, the house feels smaller now – it felt like a mansion when I was a kid,” he said. Linder said he and his brother shared an upstairs bedroom, and when he was a baby, he dropped his pacifier from his crib, proceeded to climb out and fall, and ended up breaking his collarbone.

Linder, who now lives in Fairhope, Ala., and works as a program and hospitality chair at a camp called Beckwith, said he has a lot of good memories of the house.

“It was a lovely place to grow up, especially for us kids; we had the whole upstairs to do whatever. One of my favorite stories that my dad loved to tell was about the time we got a new bishop and he wanted to be ‘a bishop of the people’ so he was going to stay with families of the clergy. The first church he visited was St. Paul’s. I was probably about 4 or 5; I don’t think that bathroom ever had a lock on the door, but there was a clawfoot tub in there and the bishop went to take a bath. Well, I decided I needed to go to bathroom, and I come out saying, ‘I saw the bishop’s bare butt.’ My mom was mortified. That was the first and last time he stayed with a family.”

An image of an Easter egg hunt at the St. Paul rectory from 1979. (Courtesy of Mark Linder)

Linder said he recalled countless hours of racing across the low rock wall in the backyard, and when a tornado felled some trees in 1983, he played Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest.

“It was so fun to live there. My dad put in a basketball goal, and we had birthday parties in the backyard,” he said. “I learned how to ride my bike, my dad taught me to play pitch, and they built a church garden at one point. … Bud Shreve’s office was across the street and he had a mini fridge. I would go over there to get a Coke because my mom wouldn’t let me have one,” Linder said, laughing.

“On Saturdays we would go to the movies at the Melba and the Landers. I remember falling asleep at Dave and Cindy Allen’s house at my dad’s 40th party, and so they let me sleep there and when I got up the next morning, they made me breakfast. I learned to swim at Doc Stalker’s pool, and I had sleepovers with Barton Moore; we used to spend every weekend together. The house is a wonderful anchor for the memories, but the people are what made it home. …

“I still love coming to Batesville.”

Now retired, Mark Linder and his wife, Patricia “Ticka” Linder, live in Dauphin Island, Ala.

Mark Linder said there was an empty lot next door and he didn’t know it until he moved to Batesville, but his great-aunt Johnnie Linder ran a boarding house in the 1930s for railroad workers. “She seemed a million years old when I was a kid and she used to pay me a nickel to hug her.”

He recalled Bailey Ford and a bank that were located across the street and then-Crouch Funeral Home that sits catty-corner from the home, and Dr. Gray’s Hospital was across the street from the church.

The Linder children at the St. Paul’s rectory. (Courtesy of Mark Linder)

“We didn’t have many neighbors (because the neighborhood was more commercial), but it was a good place for us as a family,” Mark Linder said.

“I had a 50-foot walk to my office in the church. The kids used to walk to school, and the two oldest used to run a lemonade stand in the yard.”

Both were surprised that the house was now an Airbnb. The Batesville Preservation Association presented the church a Merit Award in 2000 and an Honor Award in 2018 for the continued preservation over the years.

“It’s such a nice house,” Krug said. “I just hate to see an opportunity wasted.”

Krug said the house is a guest favorite and rated in the top 10 on Airbnb based on reviews.

One reviewer named Jeannie commented: “Fred is a wonderful host. I would highly recommend this home. It’s a beautiful 95yr old home in a wonderful neighborhood. Some of the guests walked around the neighborhood looking at all the other old Victorian homes. Very well lit up, and safe area. The home had plenty of space for everyone. There were 8 in this party, and everyone had plenty of room. Any time there was a question concerning anything, Fred was quick to respond. You will not be disappointed if you choose to stay here.”

Ben from Monticello wrote in his review: “Fred was very helpful with our needs for extra parking for our heavy equipment we brought up for disaster relief efforts. The house was just as described and he was there to show us where to park our stuff. Highly recommend and will be staying there again.”

Tiffany from Scott Air Force Base, Illinois said: “This home has loads of character and charm! Very spacious for a group or larger family! The kitchen was large and perfect for making a meal! The host was very friendly and helpful. We had a late night check-in and let him know, and he was kind enough to make sure the lights were on and air was cool for our arrival. The beds were comfortable and they had nice bedding with cozy blankets on them. We were in the area for a soccer game at Lyon College…which is very close by. Batesville is a beautiful town, hope to visit again some day and would stay here again if we do!”

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St. Paul’s Place is located at 106 S. Fifth St. in downtown Batesville. To inquire about rentals, call Krug at 870-613-3197.