An Empty Rectory Becomes Two Homes for Teachers and Police: A Rural Virginia Parish Turns to Workforce Housing

• Kingston Parish in Mathews County, Virginia, is converting its vacant historic rectory into two rental apartments
• The homes are aimed at moderate-income workers such as teachers and law-enforcement staff
• The project costs about $360,000, funded by grants and donations
• It was 55 per cent complete and 85 per cent funded in July 2026

Many rural churches own buildings they no longer use. In July 2026 the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia’s real estate programme described how one parish was turning such a building into homes. Kingston Parish in Mathews County is converting its long-vacant historic rectory on Main Street, in the Mathews Downtown Historic District, into two workforce rental apartments.

“Like many rural congregations, the parish also owns properties it no longer actively uses,” the article noted. After weighing options, “Adaptive reuse emerged as the most promising solution: convert the Rectory into housing.”

The building has a notable history. It was once home to the Rev Giles Cooke, an advocate of racial reconciliation who founded St Paul’s School in Petersburg for Black children, and it was the birthplace of John Warren Cooke, Virginia’s longest-serving Speaker of the House of Delegates. It is listed on both the National and Virginia Landmarks Registers.

The apartments are intended for moderate-income workers such as teachers, law-enforcement staff and civil servants. The project, costing about $360,000, is financed through grants and individual contributions, with no-interest backup loans available. Partners include the Kingston Housing Initiative, the Mathews Community Foundation and Busch Construction Company. It was 55 per cent complete and 85 per cent funded, with completion expected in late 2026 and first tenants in early 2027. “In a community where housing options are limited, an unused Rectory can become two safe, dignified homes,” the article said.

Jamaica’s rural parishes have their own empty rectories, manses and mission houses, many of them historic and some deteriorating. Turning one into two rental units for teachers, nurses or police posted to a district is a modest idea with real benefits: income for the church, homes for key workers and a use that keeps an old building standing. For diaspora members who grew up in those parishes, funding such a conversion could be a lasting way to give back.

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