10228 Highway 1: The James Phinney House

Architecture Style: Vernacular

Built: Before 1876

Zacchaeus and Lois [Starratt] Phinney came to Nova Scotia as Planters from the Old Colonies. They first went to Granville Township, and then later to Wilmot Township, with its great dark forests of hemlock, oak and pine, and its Acadian marshes and clearings. Their grandson, James, married Amelia Dracup Morse and lived in this house. He was a brother to the scholar, Caleb S. Phinney, who taught school in Paradise, and lived right across the Post Road. Amelia was the daughter of William Haliburton Morse, first cousin of Judge Haliburton of “Sam Slick” fame.  James and Amelia owned considerable lands in Paradise, but seem to have purchased this particular lot late in life  (1875).  It had been a portion of Capt. Thomas Freeman’s farm. As an older widow,  Amelia sold off her land. William and Ellen [Fowler] James built “Ellenhurst” to the east. On the west, just behind Amelia, lived Ellen’s sister Lucy [Fowler]Lang at one time, and Dr. Calvin Goodspeed’s widow, Anne.

The homes of Paradise that are south of the Post Road were built on lots carved out of the old farms that ran right down to the river. In Victorian days, Paradise became a retirement destination; we can see all the way through the village how home after home was built south of the road, with a river view, by an older couple.  Not only retirees enjoyed the river, of course. A 1936 Paradise School scrapbook notes that the students could see the river from the school. Once, all homeowners north of the road could.

Amelia’s heirs sold the house to Hardy Layte. He used to guide the lumber rafts from the Alpena mill down the river. His son, Ralph, became President of Purolator in the United States. In 1959, Eleanor and William Wight moved in; he was a deacon at the Baptist Church.  Harvey Munroe was a carpenter much in demand. Carl and Frances Blynn, who lived in several Paradise homes, were very active. Myles Bent and Katherine Morse bought the house in 1985 and had a tack shop here. Their whimsical decorations outside were cheerful during the long winter months. This house has been home to a fascinating mix of people, all hardworking assets to our village.