The Ranlett-Gould House

Built in 1849, the Ranlett-Gould House contains two matching formal front rooms with wallpaper copied from a castle in England and made in Alsace-Lorraine, the same paper also used in the Walsh house on Knox Street. Men came from France specifically to hang the wallpaper in 1890, and it remains in remarkably excellent condition, with colors still bright and vivid, because the owners carefully protected the walls with only well-filtered light and often closed the interior shutters on exceptionally bright days to prevent damage. Capt. Ranlett, the first owner, became the first Thomaston sea captain to circumnavigate the globe in 1864-65. He later sold the house to Hon. A. P. Gould, a local lawyer noted for his explosive temper, and Gould's son had the wallpaper printed and installed.

Thomaston, Maine · United States