Built in 1868, it is a remarkably little-altered high-quality example of Second Empire architecture, and one of two surviving designs in the city of architect Matthew Stead.

The roof is finished with diamond-cut slate shingles, in bands colored beige and red.

The building is finished in wooden clapboards, with corner pilasters, and a dentillated and paneled entablature with paired brackets below the roofline.

A rear ell, built with sympathetic styling, houses modern amenities, while the main house interior retains original woodwork and finishes, including a remarkable set of trompe-l'œil frescos in its central hall and stairwell.

[2] It was built in 1868 for Albert Berry Butler, a prominent local dry goods merchant.