6114 Highway 201: The Ephraim Daniels House

Architecture Style: Vernacular

Built: Bef. 1874

Asa Daniels was one of the original Planter grantees from Massachusetts. Like the others who came to Nova Scotia on The Charming Molly, he was from an Old Colony family, part of the “Great Migration” in the early 17th century. They came to Nova Scotia in 1760 with generations of pioneering, military service, and farming expertise to offer. This house may have been built by Asa’s grandson Ephraim, who owned this property in the early 19th century, adjoining that of James Daniels.  In an 1874 deed, the farm is “now in possession and occupied” by Ephraim’s son, Sydney Harris Daniels.

David Bent Durling and his wife Mary Eudavilia [Balcom] purchased the farm in 1882 and moved in with their baby, Ruby Elizabeth. All five of their children grew up here: Cecil became a railway conductor, Ruby a school teacher and farm wife, Paul an insurance agent, Aubrey a dentist, and Charles a banker in Cuba. They were moving up in the world! Then, in 1911, the family suffered a stunning tragedy. David had gone to Bridgetown on business.  Suddenly the mayor’s horse bolted and ran away; David quickly moved to stop the horse and was killed. Mary was in her 50’s then, and her children grown; by 1915 she had to give up her beloved home. She sold it to her husband’s cousin,  Frank Hinds. The Hinds and the Durlings were related by blood, but also by three generations of shared experience in the pioneering and homesteading of Roxbury, the “Lost Settlement” behind Paradise.  Frank and his brother Ken lived here with their mother Permile [Burns]. In a strange coincidence, Permile’s husband Michael had also been killed when his horse bolted and he was thrown from his wagon. The lives of two of the women who loved this house were thus closely bound.

Afterwards, Rupert Elliott, painter, the Sollows family, and newlyweds Allan and  Donna [Pick] Leonard lived here briefly.  In 1969, Bill and Edith Long moved here from the Balcom Road. They were much loved in the community and church in Paradise – hard workers and fine people. Kevin built a house next door. Diane and Debbie came back often to Paradise. Debbie and Rocky Hebb’s duets at the church were a treat.

Steve and Christine Wilson owned it after the Longs.