10161 Highway 1: The James Shearer House

Architecture Style: Modified Vernacular

Built: 1886

James Brenton Shearer was a miller, carpenter, and talented housewright in Paradise. He was proud of the quality homes he built for people in the area, like the Reuben Balcom home (10624 Hwy 1), with its perfectly crafted bargeboard and Gothic Revival trim. He lived on a piece of land that had been part of Planter Peter Starratt’s holdings,  and was probably the site of Samuel Starratt’s mill, noted in Elizabeth Coward’s history of Bridgetown. She wrote that Joseph Wheelock purchased a 21-foot plank for his schooner from Samuel. Samuel’s two older brothers were buried alive trying to shore up a bank at the mill in the April 1807 flood. The property, with the house and Samuel’s mill, was purchased by the Rev. Nathanial Vidito in the 1870s. The Rev. Vidito was no miller; he was one of those revivalist (some would say firebreathing!) preachers of Nova Scotia from earliest days. It was Calnek, Annapolis County historian, who described such men as having more “rugged intellect” and “burning zeal” than formal education.

Others owned the land briefly, including Peter Starratt’s descendant William. In 1878  James B. Shearer bought the land, and the old house on it, which stood in front of this home, very close to the railway. James and Sarah [Heatly] decided to build a new house. They may have begun as early as 1882, as remembered by Goldie Ellis, James’ granddaughter.  Larry and Kim Bent, while renovating, found  “1886″ scrolled in two places into the plaster- a rare and helpful proof. The new house included the superb window and door trims created by James’ talent. Sarah was a tailor, who made men’s suits in the new house from a sewing machine that was a mystery to the next generation.

(James) Hamilton Shearer and his wife Abigail next owned the house. Hamilton was very involved in the building of the exciting new Community Hall in 1936, as his expertise was trusted.  In the Shearer home, their daughter Beatrice designed the colonnades that separated dining room and living room. She liked to entertain and wanted the openness. Her death of a heart attack at age 30 devastated her family.

Don and Doris Bent raised a big family here and raised them well: Carol, Eric, Sandy, Charles, Nancy, Larry, and Sherri. Doris was postmaster for a time in Paradise, and Don worked for many years in the civil service in Greenwood. They won the respect of their community. Their son Larry, and Kim [Jones] bought this house and worked with a fine eye to restore its beautiful features, such as floors and woodwork. They understood their house and loved it.  Their children were Cassandra, Cory, and Jeremy.