Ruggles House (Maine) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Ruggles House
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Ruggles House, Columbia Falls
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Location | 146 Main St., Columbia Falls, Maine |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1820 |
| Built by | Aaron Sherman, Aleah Peterson |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000080 |
| Added to NRHP | January 26, 1970 |
The Ruggles House is a special old home located at 146 Main Street in Columbia Falls, Maine. It was built a long time ago, between 1818 and 1820. People especially love it for its amazing "flying staircase" and beautiful wooden decorations made by hand. This house is so important that it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Today, it is a historic house museum where visitors can learn about its past.
The Story of Ruggles House
A skilled builder named Aaron Sherman and a woodcarver named Alvah Peterson built this house. They built it for Thomas Ruggles, who came from Rochester, Massachusetts. Thomas Ruggles was a very busy person! He built ships, owned a sawmill, and was a leader in the local militia. He also helped deliver mail as a postmaster and worked as a judge in Machias, Maine.
Thomas Ruggles' family lived in the house for many years. They owned it until 1920, when his granddaughter Lizzie passed away. Later, in the 1930s, Lizzie's cousin, Mary Ruggles Chandler, helped save and fix up the house. Mary was also the first licensed pharmacist in Maine! The Ruggles House has been open as a museum since 1951. Many of the items inside the house actually belonged to the Ruggles family.
What Makes Ruggles House Special?
The Ruggles House is in the center of Columbia Falls village. It's a two-story wooden building with a special type of roof called a hip roof. The outside is covered with wooden boards called clapboard siding. The front of the house has five sections, with the main door in the middle. A small porch with a hip roof and round columns covers the entrance.
Look closely at the edges of the porch and the main roof! They have a decorative pattern called dentil molding, which looks like small teeth. The front door has narrow windows on each side and a fancy, half-circle window above it.
Inside, the house has amazing wooden details. The fireplaces in the living room and dining room have beautiful, hand-carved decorations. But the most impressive part of the house is its central staircase. It seems to float in the middle of the hall! It goes up to a landing and then turns around on both sides without any visible support. This kind of "flying staircase" is very rare, especially in a house that isn't huge.
See also
