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MANSFIELD-- In 1831, when cotton mills and grist mills were a common feature of the local land scape, a large factory boarding house was built at 31 West St.

According to an account written by former town histori an Jennie Copeland, the home was built by Solomon Pratt and his brother-in-law Elkanah Bates for workers at the cotton mill they were building on the nearby Rumford River.

`` For their new venture, Pratt and Bates had to build a large pond as well as a mill, mill houses and a large factory boarding house, which was later dubbed by the frightened Irish families, who moved from there on account of supernatural nois es, `Castle Thunder,' '' Copeland wrote.

The pond Copeland was referring to is Fulton's Pond, and the large Colonial that stands majestically on its origi nal site is still referred to by many of the townspeople as Castle Thunder, or Thunder Castle.

For the past 27 years, David Loving and Nancy Wall say they have been proud to be the own ers of a home with such a long history. `` I love promoting Thunder Castle,'' Loving said. `` It's unique. Not a lot of houses have genuine names for real reasons, and it's just fun being a part of history.''

Part of that history includes the fact that one of its original owners, Solomon Pratt, was a very prominent figure in the town.

According to Copeland's account, Pratt `` had his thumb on all the business in the cen ter.'' Such business included owning two other cotton mills, owning the only store in town before the mill stores were opened, exporting and import ing goods by schooner, and being the local magistrate and town banker. `` In short, Squire Pratt was the whole thing,'' Copeland said.

David and Nancy also say they have enjoyed adding their own mark to the home through various renovations they have made over the years.

Such renovations have included updating the kitchen and second floor bath and adding a back porch, nearby brick walkways, frog pond, waterfall and arbor.

Among the renovations and special touches they say they have had the most fun with, however, are the stenciled markings that can be found in nearly every room.

The stenciled creations add charm and character to each room, but even more important ly they add to its history, as they represent the type of stenciling that would have been used in the early days of the home.

Most of the stenciling, in fact, is from Moses Eaton pat terns, purchased through the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.

Eaton was a 19th century itinerant stenciler whose work is said to have graced the homes in Southern New England states from 1814-1840. His stencil designs include the pineapple as the symbol of hospitality, and the weeping willow as the sym bol of everlasting life.

David, who has stenciled most of the walls in the home, chose these very symbols to enhance the dining room. Against the walls that he paint ed light green, he added the stenciling in shades of rust and hunter green. To complement the walls, he used a green and white sten ciled pattern of pineapples and willow trees on a large pine board, which is set in front of the fireplace facing. David made the board and says it was probably called a fire board and used to cover the opening of a fireplace in the summer.

The fireplace, one of eight throughout the home, also fea tures its original brick oven and wood storage area behind a small door on the right, and its original Parsons cupboard above a pine mantel that David added.

David and Nancy also added a new wide-board pine floor about five years ago, and have furnished the room with pieces that add to its historic atmos phere.

Such stenciling continues throughout the first floor -- in the two front rooms, a back par lor and the kitchen.

One of the front parlors is used as a music room, dominat ed by a grand piano and featur ing a violin hung over the fire place. David painted the floor in a checkerboard pattern of rust and beige.

The back parlor off the kitchen is used as the TV room.

In the kitchen, Nancy has added her special mark, with one of the many floor cloths she has created over the years.

The floor cloths, Nancy says were also used in homes of the day and were the forerunner to linoleum. To create them, Nancy says she uses pieces of canvas, which she paints, adds a coat or two of polyurethane and enhances with stenciling from Moses Eaton patterns.

David has painted the kitchen walls a light putty and added the stenciling in a shade of teal. The couple also added cherry cabinets, topped with black textured countertops, as well as a large cherry desk and a cherry island, topped with a reversible butcher block-pastry board.

The most interesting addi tion to the kitchen, however, is a faux-brick archway that they added over an indoor gas grill. The inside of the archway is done in a decorative beige ceramic tile and the gas grill is situated over another piece of cherry cabinetry.

From the kitchen, one of the home's original doors, complete with metal latch handle, leads to the porch David and Nancy added in the side yard.

The porch offers a built-in bench and a view of the frog pond just beyond the wall, as well as access to Nancy's veg etable garden and the two-car garage.

On the second floor, there is a large landing area, which leads to four bedrooms and a full bath.

In the master bedroom, David and Nancy did the walls in a cranberry and off-white pattern and painted the fire place mantel cranberry, while in the room across the hall, Nancy added a Moses Easton basket stencil above the fire place she painted hunter green.

On the third floor, there are also four bedrooms, once used by David and Nancy's children, and long before that by employ ees of the cotton factory, who were known as `` the mill girls.''

The property is listed for $480,000 with Terri Sarno at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage at 508-339-9009. The house can be viewed by visiting www.nemoves.com, using MLS listing number 70245535.