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ATTLEBORO -- The Colonial-style, Cape Cod-type home at 589 Pike Ave. was built in 1766 -- as both the plaque over the front door and the brass numbers on the large center chimney state -- but it is a lot more than just a historic house for owners Brian and Kim Sweeney.

``It looked more like a home than a house, so we bought it the day it went on the market,'' said Brian, a firefighter with the Attleboro Fire Department, of that day six years ago.

``I looked at a lot of houses that day and I didn't see anything I loved as much,'' said Kim, a school teacher at Hill-Roberts Elementary School. ``I loved the arched doorways, and I loved the paneling and the character the house had.''

Situated majestically on a nearly-two-acre lot among mature flowering trees and bushes, the home still retains much of its original character, including the hardwood floors.

``It had every single thing I wanted,'' said Kim. It also has 233 years of history in it, which is why it is one of the stops on the Attleboro Historic Preservation Society's Third Annual House Tour, May 23.

Brian noted that, with the publication of this article, the home will have been featured in newspapers during three different centuries. The first feature appeared in The Attleboro Advocate on Sept. 9, 1894, and the second in The Attleboro Sun on April 1, 1967.

As for some of the highlights of the home's long history, it was originally the focal point of a rural estate covering 60 acres in the Bearswamp region extending from the eastern boundary of Attleboro to the Chartley brook.

A well across the street from the house was once known for the medicinal qualities of its water and many area residents once raised gardens on the land near the home.

The home was built by Zephaniah Bishop for himself and his wife, the former Sarah Stone, granddaughter of the Rev. Samuel Newman, who was the first minister of Rehoboth.

The Bishops are said to have come from Salem in 1703 to Massachusetts, where they raised 14 children, with the Pike Avenue home remaining in the family for four generations.

Zephaniah Bishop was a blacksmith and crafted guns used in the American Revolution and the War of 1812 in his blacksmith shop on the property.

He was also a sergeant in the Captain Moses Wilmarth's Company during the Revolutionary War and two of the Bishops' sons fought in the War of 1812.

Many of the timbers used to make the home came from trees on the property, with most of the work said to be done by ax, as saws were scarce in those days.

In a shed, which once stood where the property's garage stands today, the Bishops also had a forge from which they molded nails for the home. Among the original features that highlight the home today are three fireplaces in the kitchen, living room and dining room.

Through renovations made to the home over the years, many by the George Pion family, which owned the home from 1948 to 1998, the bricks in the dining room fireplace have been replaced with bricks from the old Sanford Street School. The same bricks were also used to make a walkway between the house and the driveway.

The three fireplaces are also still surrounded with their original paneling, and the dining room also features the original front door, referred to as the Christian door, complete with its Crusaders cross door knocker and four-pane transom.

In the dining room, the heavy pine paneling around the angled fireplace is continued on two walls and the room also features a hardwood floor, which along with the home's other hardwood floors, the Sweeney's had refinished.

The room also includes arched doorways and narrow, two-over-two windows, found in other rooms as well.

To accentuate the original features of the dining room, the Sweeneys have decorated the room with antique furnishings from Kim's grandmother.

The furnishings include a small drop-leaf pedestal dining table, with center drawer, and a secretary desk that belonged to her grandmother.

In the adjacent living room, to the left of the fireplace and its raised paneling, a narrow floor-to-ceiling built-in bookcase adds a special homey touch, displaying photographs and family collectibles.

In fact, Kim has given every room a special touch with such accessories, including dried flower arrangements, which hold personal memories of loved ones.

In the large kitchen, many of these accessories include colorful items from Tatutina on the fireplace mantel and built-in display cabinet.

The kitchen fireplace is the largest in the home, featuring a brick hearth almost 11 feet wide, and a brick oven and wood storage area.

Having done most of their renovations to the kitchen and its adjacent bathroom, the Sweeneys have added a charcoal gray ceramic tiled floor, with matching countertops and white ceramic tiled backsplash.

They have also added new appliances, a new white porcelain sink, a ceiling fan and have given the cabinets a fresh coat of deep salmon-colored paint.

The bathroom, which now measures a spacious 12 by 10 feet, after Brian combined a small bath and pantry area, has been completely remodeled, with tiled floor and new fixtures.

A sunroom, Kim's favorite room, located off the kitchen, is nicely decorated with floral wallpaper. It leads to the girls' bedroom and the master bedroom on the first floor.

Making up the remainder of the home's 2,700 square feet of living space, there are also two additional bedrooms and a landing area on the second floor, all complete with built-in drawers.

In addition to making a few renovations to the home, the Sweeneys have contributed to its history by making it the first home for their three children -- Madison, 4, Parker, 2, and Jackson, 8 months.