St. James Episcopal Church - 1869

“A Horse Paid for the Window”

To quote from Bishop Quintard’s memoirs of the

war, “Just before moving toward Franklin, General

Strahl came to me and said ‘I want to make you a

present’ and presented me with a splendid horse

named the Lady Polk. I used the horse through the

remainder of the war and its close, sold her and

with the money erected in St. James Church,

Bolivar, a memorial window to General Strahl and

his adjutant, Lieutenant John Marsh. Both of these

men I had baptized but a few months previously,

and both were confirmed by Bishop Elliott.”

In 1840 a lot was purchased at the corner of Washington and Lafayette Streets for $175 and a contract made between John Shepherd and the building committee: McNeal, Polk and Goodrich to construct a brick building 32' x 44' at a cost of $375.

The new St. James church building was built in 1869 by Willis and Sloan. This building was literally constructed around the original church, now known as Ingram Hall, which in turn, was disassembled and moved to a neighboring lot behind the current church. The 1869 church is of Gothic architecture designed by Fletcher Sloan. He also designed many southern churches and courthouses including the ones at Bolivar, Holly Springs and Oxford, MS.