10095 Highway 1: The Colonel William Elder Starratt House

Architecture Style: Queen Anne Revival

Built: 1870s

Col. William Elder Starratt was the son of Simon Starratt, a sea captain whose grandparents, Peter and Eleanor (Armstrong) Starratt were among the planter families who moved here from Granville after 1774.  This home is on the westernmost parcel of the Starratt lands, which took up this end of Paradise. It gives evidence of the village’s evolution from 18th-century hardship to 19th-century prosperity.

William’s father Simon was a man who lost his whole family. Within a seven-year period, Simon’s wife Abigail [Bent], age 35, his son George, age 4, and his daughter Euphemia, age 9, all died. Then his remaining daughter, Amanda, married Edmund Bent and died at 27.  Simon’s second family, with Mary Corbitt, was more robust. His two sons, William Elder and Alvin,  lived and left descendants.  And this beautiful home was William Elder’s legacy. In the gable he placed a captain’s wheel as part of the wooden trim: it was the age of ships, and the Starratts were proud of their seafaring heritage.

William Elder’s name probably came from a respected Baptist pastor, and his title, “Colonel Starratt”, came from his involvement in the 69^th regiment, Annapolis County. This was a militia regiment with headquarters in Paradise, and Col Starratt commanded its 60,000 volunteers.  Their disciplined weekly drills and the fear of Fenian raids gave them credibility and prestige in the County.  Col. Starratt accepted his status; his stylish carriage with its coachman and team of black horses was truly impressive in Paradise!

He died in 1899, and his daughter Minnie Pearson (George) who had been in New England brought new life to the house. Her two-story tower with the bay windows and wrought iron trim was inspired, and the indoor plumbing and furnace were true luxuries. People remembered the Japanese Lanterns she hung in the trees during outdoor parties.

The Banks family owned the house next for several generations and were good stewards of this special home. Newer owners have in turn tried to reverse some of the inevitable effects of ageing. The captain’s wheel remains in the front gable, one more quiet testimony to the “Age of Sail” in Nova Scotia, which brought bustle and profit to Paradise too. We may have forgotten that time, but Col. William Elder’s house remembers.