Caleb House

Caleb House, as recognized by its municipal heritage designation, is valued for its modified Classical or Greek Revival architectural style with Gothic Revival detailing and its notable historic presence in the community of Paradise, Nova Scotia.

Built c. 1824, the Caleb House was the second to be built in the community of Paradise. The land upon which the home is constructed was originally part of a land grant issued to Colonel Munro. The property was registered to John Starratt from 1795 to 1828, the house being built by either John Starratt or his son Samuel Starratt.

Over the ensuing fifty years the property changed ownership six times, and eventually was purchased by Caleb S. Phinney, a teacher, who owned the property from 1872 to 1874. The Paradise and Clarence Baptist Church Trustees assumed ownership of the house from 1874 to 1909 at which time it was put into service as a parsonage. A succession of Baptist ministers and their families occupied the building, notably Rev. R.B. Kinley from 1890 to 1897.

In terms of its Classical or Greek Revival form, Caleb House is a one-and-one-half storey wooden construction gable-end-to-the-road oriented structure with a medium-pitched front-gable roof. One slope chimney and one chimney at the peak are in evidence. The building has a one-storey hipped roof verandah with simple column supports across the façade and flat hoods over the windows. Gothic Revival styling includes decorative bargeboards, flat soffits and a projecting bay window with an ornate bracketed canopy or shed roof. There is a one-storey entry porch on the east side. The building’s early prominence as an agricultural endeavour and its subsequent religious affiliation makes an important statement regarding its valued heritage and significance in the evolution of Paradise, Nova Scotia.