KENNEBUNK, Maine — James Hunt Barker died peacefully on Oct. 10, 2020, in Kentucky after several years of declining health. He was 92 years old.
Barker lived a storied, flamboyant life that included careers as an actor, public relations manager, portrait model, racehorse owner and avid rider, art gallery proprietor and collector, dog enthusiast and owner of the historic "Wedding Cake House" in Kennebunk.
Barker became aware of the Wedding Cake House for the first time in 1954 at age 26. When he saw the house, he said, "God brought him here." On this visit to Kennebunk, he met his friend, the influential portrait artist Channing Hare, along with actress Claudette Colbert, who was appearing at the Ogunquit Playhouse.
Always curious about the future, Barker made frequent visits to his close friend Elizabeth Lee McCann, a psychic who predicted many events in Barker's life. She also told Barker, "There will be a wedding in your future at age 70."
James H. Barker (1928-2020)
As Miss McCann prophesied, in 1998 at age 70 Barker returned to Kennebunk and learned the Wedding Cake House was up for sale. Forty-four years after he first became attracted to the historic property, he bought it from Mary Burnett. She was the first person who was not a direct descendant of George W. Bourne who built the house in 1825.
Bourne was a wealthy shipbuilder and constructed the building in a classic Federal architectural style. He started to add elaborate Gothic decorations to the house in the 1850s which he fashioned after the spires and buttresses of the Cathedral in Milan. As a result of the ornate additions, the house became known as the "Wedding Cake House."
A popular attraction, and arguably one of the most photographed and painted buildings in Maine, in 2005 Barker opened his home for public tours to raise funds for relief of Hurricane Katrina. A few years later, he opened the house again to benefit of the Wells Food Pantry.
Portsmouth Herald; Novemer 11, 2020
Barker lived a storied, flamboyant life that included careers as an actor, public relations manager, portrait model, racehorse owner and avid rider, art gallery proprietor and collector, dog enthusiast and owner of the historic "Wedding Cake House" in Kennebunk.
Barker became aware of the Wedding Cake House for the first time in 1954 at age 26. When he saw the house, he said, "God brought him here." On this visit to Kennebunk, he met his friend, the influential portrait artist Channing Hare, along with actress Claudette Colbert, who was appearing at the Ogunquit Playhouse.
Always curious about the future, Barker made frequent visits to his close friend Elizabeth Lee McCann, a psychic who predicted many events in Barker's life. She also told Barker, "There will be a wedding in your future at age 70."
James H. Barker (1928-2020)
As Miss McCann prophesied, in 1998 at age 70 Barker returned to Kennebunk and learned the Wedding Cake House was up for sale. Forty-four years after he first became attracted to the historic property, he bought it from Mary Burnett. She was the first person who was not a direct descendant of George W. Bourne who built the house in 1825.
Bourne was a wealthy shipbuilder and constructed the building in a classic Federal architectural style. He started to add elaborate Gothic decorations to the house in the 1850s which he fashioned after the spires and buttresses of the Cathedral in Milan. As a result of the ornate additions, the house became known as the "Wedding Cake House."
A popular attraction, and arguably one of the most photographed and painted buildings in Maine, in 2005 Barker opened his home for public tours to raise funds for relief of Hurricane Katrina. A few years later, he opened the house again to benefit of the Wells Food Pantry.
Portsmouth Herald; Novemer 11, 2020
KENNEBUNK, Maine — James Hunt Barker died peacefully on Oct. 10, 2020, in Kentucky after several years of declining health. He was 92 years old.
Barker lived a storied, flamboyant life that included careers as an actor, public relations manager, portrait model, racehorse owner and avid rider, art gallery proprietor and collector, dog enthusiast and owner of the historic "Wedding Cake House" in Kennebunk.
Barker became aware of the Wedding Cake House for the first time in 1954 at age 26. When he saw the house, he said, "God brought him here." On this visit to Kennebunk, he met his friend, the influential portrait artist Channing Hare, along with actress Claudette Colbert, who was appearing at the Ogunquit Playhouse.
Always curious about the future, Barker made frequent visits to his close friend Elizabeth Lee McCann, a psychic who predicted many events in Barker's life. She also told Barker, "There will be a wedding in your future at age 70."
James H. Barker (1928-2020)
As Miss McCann prophesied, in 1998 at age 70 Barker returned to Kennebunk and learned the Wedding Cake House was up for sale. Forty-four years after he first became attracted to the historic property, he bought it from Mary Burnett. She was the first person who was not a direct descendant of George W. Bourne who built the house in 1825.
Bourne was a wealthy shipbuilder and constructed the building in a classic Federal architectural style. He started to add elaborate Gothic decorations to the house in the 1850s which he fashioned after the spires and buttresses of the Cathedral in Milan. As a result of the ornate additions, the house became known as the "Wedding Cake House."
A popular attraction, and arguably one of the most photographed and painted buildings in Maine, in 2005 Barker opened his home for public tours to raise funds for relief of Hurricane Katrina. A few years later, he opened the house again to benefit of the Wells Food Pantry.
Portsmouth Herald; Novemer 11, 2020
Barker lived a storied, flamboyant life that included careers as an actor, public relations manager, portrait model, racehorse owner and avid rider, art gallery proprietor and collector, dog enthusiast and owner of the historic "Wedding Cake House" in Kennebunk.
Barker became aware of the Wedding Cake House for the first time in 1954 at age 26. When he saw the house, he said, "God brought him here." On this visit to Kennebunk, he met his friend, the influential portrait artist Channing Hare, along with actress Claudette Colbert, who was appearing at the Ogunquit Playhouse.
Always curious about the future, Barker made frequent visits to his close friend Elizabeth Lee McCann, a psychic who predicted many events in Barker's life. She also told Barker, "There will be a wedding in your future at age 70."
James H. Barker (1928-2020)
As Miss McCann prophesied, in 1998 at age 70 Barker returned to Kennebunk and learned the Wedding Cake House was up for sale. Forty-four years after he first became attracted to the historic property, he bought it from Mary Burnett. She was the first person who was not a direct descendant of George W. Bourne who built the house in 1825.
Bourne was a wealthy shipbuilder and constructed the building in a classic Federal architectural style. He started to add elaborate Gothic decorations to the house in the 1850s which he fashioned after the spires and buttresses of the Cathedral in Milan. As a result of the ornate additions, the house became known as the "Wedding Cake House."
A popular attraction, and arguably one of the most photographed and painted buildings in Maine, in 2005 Barker opened his home for public tours to raise funds for relief of Hurricane Katrina. A few years later, he opened the house again to benefit of the Wells Food Pantry.
Portsmouth Herald; Novemer 11, 2020
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