Enticed by the allure of owning a New England bed and breakfast — and having had a few children relocate to Rhode Island — Thomas and Nancy Dooley in 1995 sold their digs in Illinois and bought Mount Maple, a former boarding house in Wickford Village.

Mount Maple, named for the maple trees on its nearly two acres of land, casts a massive shadow. It’s a five-bay 2 1/2-story Victorian with two rear ells and a verandah. It’s located at 730 Annaquatucket Rd., North Kingstown

The more than 5,300 square feet of living space includes 18 rooms, 61/2 bathrooms and three kitchens. Ceilings are nearly 10 feet high. There’s a 1,500-square-foot walkup attic and an equal number of square footage in the cellar.

Thomas and Nancy Dooley bought Mount Maple and turned it into a family business. They restored the house’s historic elements, and then they took charge of the day-to-day operation of the bed and breakfast.

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They are ready to retire, and they are selling the property for $750,000.

This Victorian, circa late 19th century, offers a notable wraparound porch with era-style decorative bracket-like molding at the top of the columns. It has a two-car unattached garage, bricked-in patio, a driveway that circles the house, and according to the Dooleys’ son, John Dooley, it offers enough parking for 10 cars.

When the Dooleys took over Mount Maple, they turned it into four apartments, one of which is bed-and-breakfast guest rooms. They restored the hard-wood floors, moldings and decorative banisters.

The apartment on the first floor of the house is located in the back. It has two bedrooms, a full bathroom, a den and living room. There are entrances from the backyard and from the side of the house off the porch.

The kitchen has light-blue Formica on the counters, an island that fits four chairs and glass-front cabinets. The pantry, a separate room, houses the sink and a roomy broom closet.

Above the first-floor apartment is a one-bedroom apartment with a full bathroom and a kitchen, which the Dooleys converted into the laundry area.

A wide formal staircase leads to the second floor where there’s a roomy landing with a large window and couch. There are four bed-and-breakfast guest rooms with big windows and full bathrooms. Among the rooms is a two-room suite with a refrigerator and microwave oven.

“It’s actually a full kitchen,” says Nancy Dooley. “But we took out the stove because we didn’t want guests cooking in the rooms.”

The inn is primarily used in the summer. “So most of the year, we have this huge, giant house to ourselves,” she says. “It’s great during the holidays. I can have many members of our families stay here, and they have lots of space to spread out.”

The fourth apartment is two floors with a first-floor bedroom, a den, living room, 1 1/2 bathrooms, eat-in kitchen with counters covered in Formica and a fireplace. There are two bedrooms on the second floor as well as a half-bath.

In total, there are 10 rooms on the first floor; eight rooms on the second floor.

“I love the whole house. It’s so elegant with all the beautiful woodwork,” she says. “I like that I brought this place back to life.”

When the Dooleys purchased Mount Maple, it had been carved up into six apartments. Much of the building needed restoring. “But all the historic elements were there,” she says. “They just needed to be either uncovered or fixed up.”

According to John Dooley, pinpointing the exact age of this Victorian has been tricky. He says, “All of the records pertaining to the home were destroyed in a fire.”

Documents from the area’s historical society show that the Gardiner family, which ran a farm on the property in the mid-19th century, noted an increase in demand for housing for workers at the area mills. The demand prompted Gardiner in about 1860 to build Mount Maple, then called Gardiner Boarding House.

They placed the boarding house at the edge of the farm, which was the closest to Wickford Village, the railroad station and seven nearby mills.

Edmund Cullen, who moved to the United States from Ireland to escape the potato famine, lived in the boarding house. He eventually bought it in about 1894; renamed it Mount Maple; and his wife took charge of the day-to-day operation.

The 5,300-square-foot Mount Maple, a Victorian on 1.75 acres at 730 Annaquatucket Rd., North Kingstown, is for sale for $750,000. It has oil heat. The taxes are $9,319. John Dooley, (401) 710-9135 or Dool@cox.net, has the listing. How to submit a House of the Week

A different House of the Week appears each Saturday in the projoHomes section of The Providence Journal. The feature tells the story of the house and the people who have lived in it. If you would like us to consider a house for sale as a subject of this news feature, send a photo, information about the house and why it is of interest, to Faye Zuckerman, real estate writer,

75 Fountain St., Providence, RI 02902; fax (401) 277-8250; or e-mail pjhomes@projo.com. For more information, call (401) 277-7333.

fzuckerm@projo.com