historic society

Since the ‘Annual Commemorative Paris Hill Egg’ fundraiser has become so popular the ‘2024’ egg, third in the series, has been hatched early and is now available for purchase. They will  make great stocking stuffers, hostess gifts or a holiday gift for those difficult to buy for on your  list. The eggs are now being shipped to collectors coast to coast and internationally.  

The ‘2024’ egg features the Old Oxford County Jail which now serves as the Hamlin Memorial  Library and Museum on Paris Hill. The image depicts the jail as it appeared in 1822. The Old Oxford County Jail has survived many architectural transformations over the years but still retains the original granite blocks quarried in Oxford and dragged up Paris Hill over frozen ground in the winter. The iron bars, doors and strappings are original to the jail. The second  floor is dedicated to a collection of Paris Hill historical artifacts and the first floor serves as a  public library.  

One hundred percent of the money raised by the sale of this year’s eggs and handmade cherry  stands will support yet another major historical restoration project slated for the Paris Hill  Academy. Last year’s Egg helped finance the new Academy roof. Now that the roof of the  building is secure restoration can begin on the inside of the building. The leaking roof caused  damage to the second floor ceiling, walls and stage requiring ceiling repair, new drywall and paint. These repairs, while necessary, will also showcase the privately funded restoration of the  circa 1892 Grand Drape adorning the stage, a truly historical masterpiece.  

Wells Wood Turning & Finishing, located in Buckfield, manufacturer of the White House Easter  Eggs is the same company that makes the Paris Hill eggs for this fundraiser. It’s an added  bonus to purchase the eggs locally and support a local business.  

For a donation of $10.00 to the non-profit organization, ‘Paris Hill Community Club’, you will  be presented with the 2024 “Paris Hill Egg”, the third egg in the collectible series. Handmade wooden egg stands are available for $2.00 to showcase your commemorative egg. Eggs and stands can be purchased at Speedway Inc in Oxford.

Place your orders early so the eggs can be delivered before  Christmas.  

There are still 59 2023 eggs left – and when sold will benefit the Paris Cape Historical Society as they continue to protect the many Paris Hill artifacts in their possession. Please visit the Paris Cape Historical Society at 77 High Street in South Paris. You will be amazed at their collections and displays. 

I want to thank everyone who has purchased eggs in the past. I also encourage those of you who haven’t purchased eggs to consider this small donation as the sale of each egg/stand combined makes a huge financial impact on the restoration of our beautiful village. If all 250 eggs and stands are sold the donation reaches a total of $3000.00

Last years eggs and ‘All Things Paris Hill T-Shirts’ combined provided a community donation of $3865.00 for the Academy roof project. I personally cover the $900.00 purchase of the eggs as my donation to the fundraiser. 

I look forward to personally delivering your eggs locally and mailing any out of state eggs in time for Christmas.  ‘All Things Paris Hill’ t-shirts are always available for purchase at $15.00 each. Medium/Large/Extra-large always available in Coral/Yellow/ Light Gray. 

To purchase a 2023 egg or T-Shirt, please reach out to Linda at cozycider@gmail.com – and stay tuned for the 2024 egg launch next week!

And the Paris Hill Community would like to express our thanks to Linda for her gracious efforts and her egg-cellent ideas to raise funds for the historic buildings on Paris Hill!

An anonymous donor entrusted me with 24 all silver commemorative coins struck in celebration of the 200th Paris, Maine bicentennial in 1993.

Each coin depicts the original First Baptist Church/Meetinghouse of Paris engraved on one side and the Billings Mill on the other side. They are in mint condition and presented in a blue velvet case. Each coin is individually numbered and encased in a protective covering. These are the last of the coins available to the public.

The coins are $25.00 each and one hundred percent of the funds raised will benefit the ‘Paris Hill Historical Society’ and the ‘Paris Cape Historical Society’ to help maintain the historical artifacts of our area.

If you are interested in purchasing a commemorative coin please contact Linda Richardson at cozycider@gmail.com. The coins are available until October 1st when they will be returned to the donor. We continue to entertain unique ways to raise funds for our non-profits and give our community a reminder of their support.

“It was a cold October morning. Two patrolmen stopped to make a routine check on a car parked off the side of the road. On the back seat was the body of a woman. In the trunk was the body of a man. And behind the wheel sat a quiet 18-year-old boy…” (excerpt from: Thunder Over South Parish, Addison J. Allen, author)

As the falling leaves of October blow across Paris Hill Road from in front of the Country Club and into the yard of the old “Delta House” (now owned by the Decato’s), I’m always reminded of a dark time on Paris Hill. It was October 16th, 1937 when murder tore at the spirit of this quintessential village we call home. The events leading up to the murders of Dr. and Mrs. Littlefield are sketchy at best which in turn caused the incarceration of two men when likely only one man had committed the murders. “Whodunit”, the 17 year old young man, Paul Dwyer living with his mother across the street from the Country Club or the Oxford County Deputy Sheriff Francis Carroll whose daughter was Paul Dwyer’s girlfriend.

Here is a synopsis of the murders provided by the New England Historical Society:

The death of Dr. James Littlefield on October 13, 1937 in South Paris was not the biggest crime story in the state of Maine. That distinction belonged to Bangor where the streets were filled with gunfire as the notorious Brady Gang met its demise in a shootout with police and FBI.

Three days later police around the country were still looking for any signs that members of the gang had gotten away. In Arlington, N.J., police noticed a car with Maine license plates pulled over beside the road with a young man sleeping in the front seat and a woman in the back. While they were wrong to suspect the two were connected to the Brady gang, they were very right to be suspicious.

Dr. James Littlefield

The woman in the backseat, Lydia Littlefield, was dead. Strangled. In the trunk they found her husband, Dr. James Littlefield, also dead. Bludgeoned and strangled. The man behind the wheel – 17-year-old Paul Dwyer – confessed. His extradition to Maine kicked off one of the most convoluted and lurid murder trials in the state’s history.

A FANTASTIC TALE

Before it ended, two men would be convicted of murder, launching a debate that continues to this day as to who did the actual crime and why.

Dwyer, a chauffeur with no criminal record, outlined the murder story in his initial confession. Though Dr. Littlefield had an addiction to morphine, he still had a reputation as a respectable physician.

Dwyer had suspected he had venereal disease and called the doctor. Littlefield treated him during a house call, but chastised the young man about the company he kept. Dwyer flew into a rage because the doctor had insulted his girlfriend, Barbara Carroll. He then attacked the doctor, killing him.

Dwyer then stuffed the doctor’s body into the trunk of his car and drove to the Littlefield home. He told the doctor’s wife, Lydia, that the doctor had left on a train to Boston. According to his fantastic story, the doctor had hit two pedestrians with his car, panicked and fled. He asked Dwyer to pick up Lydia and meet him in Boston.

For two days, Dwyer stayed on the road with Lydia as a passenger, explaining that at each stop he had received instructions from the doctor to travel to a new destination. The pair traipsed around from South Paris, to Boston, back up to Concord, N.H., and then back to Maine.

South Paris, Maine, in 1907

Dwyer finally strangled the increasingly suspicious Lydia and propped her in the back seat, as if sleeping, and went on his way to New Jersey. Oddly enough, two police officers stopped the car for traffic violations, but sent Dwyer on his way with only a warning—all while Lydia “slept” in the back seat.

GUILTY, NOT GUILTY

Dwyer pleaded not guilty, but after two days of trial he changed his plea to guilty. The judge sentenced him to life in prison, but the public had doubts. The motive for the murder seemed slim, and Dwyer seemed an unlikely killer to those who knew him.

Behind bars, Dwyer took up pen and paper and wrote a very different version of events. In this second version, Dr. Littlefield had not come to the Dwyer home to treat Paul. Rather, he had come there to examine Paul’s sweetheart, Barbara, who feared she’d gotten pregnant. Barbara told the doctor that her own father, Deputy Sheriff Francis Carroll, might have impregnated her.

Barbara had told Dwyer of the incest and the two had turned to the doctor for help. Dr. Littlefield confronted Francis Carroll and threatened him. The deputy killed the doctor and bullied Dwyer into helping with the getaway. Carroll, Dwyer said, killed Lydia and sent Dwyer on his drive.

Dwyer had changed his plea, he said, because Carroll had threatened him. Police didn’t think the new account had any more truth to it than the old one, but the story rang true to one person: Carroll’s boss, the sheriff of Oxford County. He arrested Carroll on the incest charge in 1938 and began investigating the murder.

New York Times, Aug. 13, 1938

In short order, Carroll stood trial and a jury convicted him of the murder. Carroll privately denied the incest allegation, but did not do so in court. His lawyers feared that if he addressed it, his daughter would have to testify and add to the weight of evidence against him.

Carroll offered an alibi for the murder of Dr. Littlefield, but he couldn’t back it up. He was accused of trying to bribe a witness to support him. Another witness reported seeing him at the scene of the murder. In the end, the jury was persuaded that Carroll was guilty.

TWO MEN, ONE CRIME

Now two men were in the state prison convicted of the same crime. There the matter would sit for 10 years while both Carroll and Dwyer proclaimed their innocence. In 1950, Carroll would finally win his release and the Legislature would order the attorney general to re-investigate the case.

At this point, prosecutors could not charge Carroll with incest. Nor could a court retry him for the murder of Dr. Littlefield. But the court could retry either him or Dwyer for the death of Lydia Littlefield, a crime that neither had so far been accused of.

In the end, the last investigation – published in 1952 – found reasonable doubt as to Carroll’s guilt. He should not face additional charges, the investigation concluded. Carroll went free. Dwyer would, himself, win his freedom on parole for good behavior.

So there you have it, you can make up your own mind as to  “WHODUNIT”. 

“Thunder Over South Parish” originally titled “New England  Gothic” was published in 1960 and caused a real stir in the  community due to its salacious content….hardly ‘salacious’ in  today’s literature however. I can remember growing up on the Hill  in the 1960’s and hearing about the macabre novel. I was sworn  to secrecy when I caught my sister, who was six years older than  me, hiding a copy of the paperback under her mattress. To this day I’ve yet to read the book, still abiding by my parents wishes – haha, but perhaps one of my more risqué neighbors might have a  copy hidden under their mattress I could borrow.  

So when you walk or drive by the old ‘Delta House’ notice the  boarded up window on the second floor. It’s said this was the  bathroom window in the room where the murder took place.  Folklore has it that boarding up a window is an attempt to close  off the memory of a tragedy too horrible to bear. 

Story and cemetery photo submitted by Linda Richardson – excerpt by the New England Historical Society

The Paris Hill Historical Society began using its present building on 48 Tremont Street in 1993. Edwine Guyer was instrumental in securing the location with the land deeded by the Paris Hill Utility District. It was built by students from the Oxford Hills Vocational Technical School with plans to resemble a one room schoolhouse designed by A.K.(Alex) Alexander. The need for the building was critical since the society’s beginnings in 1967. The group had collected many items of historical interest from the area and needed a repository for them. Prior to that the society met in members’ homes, upstairs in the Country Club, in the Academy (now the Community Club), the Albion K. Parris Law Office as well as in the vestry of the First Baptist Church.

This summer we hope residents will take an interest and stop by to see what we have to offer. Every year we change what is in our display cases. This year we are thinking of putting together an exhibit on The Women of Paris Hill. If you have items (photos, diaries, journals, etc) on an interesting Paris Hill woman we would love to share them in the display. A walking tour of Paris Hill was another idea for this summer. Newer residents may not be aware that we have files on many of the houses, past residents of Paris Hill and interesting artifacts not on display in the other public buildings of the town. One of the projects that visitors to the village comment on is how much they enjoy the historical signs on many of the homes in town. This is just one of the projects that the society sponsored to help in its mission to preserve and promote the rich history of Paris Hill.

We hope to be open on Thursday afternoons throughout the summer and are willing to open the building on request. We have a loyal group of supporters who continued to support us during the last two years. Our dues have been kept at just $30 a year because of their generosity. Presently, the two officers and three trustees try to continue the work of the society to include the maintenance of the building and grounds. Beside our need for more residents who are willing to consider joining us on the board as a trustee, we need a larger venue to host the programs that will keep the history of Paris Hill real, relevant and relational for our community. Please give us a contact us or stop by this summer if you wish to join and are not on our mailing list

(Provided by Nancy Schlanser)

Upcoming Events

Calling all ghosts, ghouls and goblins in search of the mysterious legend known as the “Chandler Tomb”.

Rosemary Losso and I set out on a beautiful October morning intent on locating the infamous “Chandler Tomb” that up until today was just a legend I had heard about while growing up on the Hill. Donning our orange caps, we threw caution to the wind and headed past the Academy to what I remembered as Granny Hill Road. Well, much to my surprise Granny Hill Road had become a thicket of briars, blow downs and an over growth of thick brush. Disappointingly, my childhood path had disappeared and we were forced to turn around and head down the newly paved Paris Hill Road to the Mink Farm Road.

Armed with scant information and a rudimentary map found in my “Paris Cemeteries 1793-2004” book, we headed down the Mink Farm Rd. Growing up, the Mink Farm Rd was a desolate narrow dirt road that led to Granny Pond and my best friend Camelia’s family mink farm. I was surprised to find it a paved road flanked with modest homes and no sign of the mink farm. However, Granny Pond was just where I remembered it and the memories of catching giant frogs and skipping rocks came rushing back. As we shuffled through the beautiful fall leaves on the road, we heard acorns hitting the metal roofs and watched the busy chipmunks prepare to fill their larders for winter.

At the intersection of Mink Farm Rd and Granny Hill Rd we paused, and since I remembered no siting of a tomb near the pond we took a left and headed down the dirt road. Little did we realize this dirt road was the original ‘Old County Road’ to Paris Hill mentioned on our sketchy map. We came to what appeared to be a dead end and a “No Trespassing” sign. With no remnants of a tomb in sight we turned around, a bit disappointed, and headed back to the Mink Farm Rd. As luck would have it we came across an elderly woman mowing her lawn. We exchanged pleasantries and asked her if she knew where the tomb was located. She knew exactly where the tomb was located and sent us back from whence we had just come. She said to ignore the ‘No Trespassing’ sign and head further down the dirt road and the tomb would be blatantly obvious on the right hand side of the road. As the attached photos prove we did indeed find the “Chandler Tomb…right where the rudimentary map had shown had we realized the ‘Old County Rd’ was a dirt road and not what is considered Paris Hill Rd today.

Dr and Mrs. Benjamin Chandler are indeed entombed on the woodsy knoll over looking what used to be an apple orchard and a beautiful view of the White Mountains. The engraved marble slab remains as do the granite pillars holding it up. The engraving is still legible however the lichen has taken up considerable residence over the centuries. The iron gate has been replaced, the granite walls are intact and the dead elm is now just a mere hollowed out stump. The tomb is a fitting memorial to yet another courageous and generous Paris Hill resident with close ties to the First Baptist Church of Paris. Proceeds from his orchard were given to the Church to benefit the Sunday School.

Dr. Benjamin Chandler was born in Duxbury, MA in 1782…the son of Perez and Rhoda Chandler. Dr Chandler moved to Paris from Hebron in 1811 and continued his medical practice until he died in April of 1827. He wasappointed Assistant Surgeon in Col. Ryerson’s regiment during the war of 1812. He served as Representativeof the Legislature in Boston until Maine was granted statehood in 1820. He then was appointed Judge of Probate on June 6, 1820 and held that office until 1827. He was married twice but left no children. He was a deacon of the First Baptist Church of Paris and a community subscriber of the Revere bell that hangs in the First Baptist Church by donating $10.00 towards its purchase. He was described as a “moral, upright man, amiable in his dispostion, unobtrusive in his manners, respected and beloved as a physician, and honored as an able, intelligent and useful citizen by all his contemporaries.” He died at age 45 in 1827. His remains are entombed beside the old road to South Paris.

I encourage you to follow our footsteps down the ‘Old County Road’ and pay tribute to Dr. Benjamin Chandler and to become a little more immersed in the history of the town we call home.

And stay tuned for more strange and wonderful stories “On the HIll”.

(Provided by Linda Richardson)