435 Leonard Road: The Hiram Marshall House

Architecture Style: Modified Vernacular

Built: 1846

The Leonard Road was built in 1803, by Planter settlers in the newly opened Wilmot Township. It was called the “road to the back settlement”, and it went from the farms north of Paradise right down to the river, so that the ships and barges coming up to the “landing at the head of the tide” could take farmers’ produce to be sold.

This house was built by the Marshall family. The ell at the right of the building was later moved to the back- perhaps the first house?  Isaac Marshall was the original Paradise Planter of the family,  and his grandson, Hiram, who married Ziphia Porter, is thought to have built this house from the great forests nearby. The beams, cut in the woods to specifications, were marked with Roman numerals,  and wooden pegs were used in construction.  But Hiram’s legacy did not pass down to his children.  He sold the house, to William and Ada [Phinney] Crisp, and his son Ritson moved to Paradise.

The Crisp family were blessed by Hiram’s labours and farmed here for almost a century.  Ada was Spurgeon Phinney’s sister and grew up in the lost Phinney house, a Planter treasure that once overlooked the river at the east boundary of Paradise.  Charles Crisp married Annie Ruggles, from the farm later known as Phinneyval, and after Charles died, Annie and her son Thornton and Kitty [Bezanson] shared the farmhouse. The generations often divided a farmhouse, to give ageing parents both independence and security, or to provide a young couple starting out with privacy and a financial start.  Further, on the farm, everyone tried to help. Young and old alike could be on hand for morning milkings or plantings at dusk. Kitty and Thornton were well-known members of the farming community. A gifted vocalist and guitarist, Kitty also made superb handicrafts.  They had a son, Roger, and three daughters, June, Betty, and Sandra, who all lived in Paradise.

John and Virginia Lee came here in 1970, and like so many Americans who came then,  they brought a social conscience and a love of their new home. John taught at Middleton High and was a  County Councillor. Virginia, a writer, teacher, and learner,  ran a small business in computer consulting. Both gave the community many gifts.  Their children were John, Jennifer, and Elizabeth, born in the U.S.A., and  Randal, who was born here.