[4] Its builder and first resident, Enos Blair, was one of Monroe County's most prominent citizens: among the area's first settlers, he served as the first jailer for the city of Bloomington and later held the offices of sheriff and Justice of the peace.

Blair died in 1845; over the next twenty years, the house passed through many hands, including those of state representatives Elias Abel and Ransom Akin.

Prominent elements of the exterior include large rectangular double-hung windows with limestone sills and lintels, a frieze with cornice, and corbelled chimneys on the eastern and western ends.

Architecturally, they closely resemble the original portion of the house, with brick walls, corbelling, gabled roofs, stone window sills and lintels, and end chimneys.

Among the distinctive elements of the six-room interior are baseboards 18 inches (460 mm) tall, fireplaces in every room with massive mantels,[3]: 2  and ceilings 11 feet (3.4 m) high,[5] and a basement.

[7] Today, the house occupies a hill at the end of Third Street, one of the city's most significant thoroughfares; as a result, it is visible from a great distance.

[5] At the end of 1985, the house was sold to a group of investors from Miami, Florida, who bought it with plans to rent it as commercial offices or as room for businesses in the arts and crafts fields.

Many Bloomington residents, recognizing the house's place in the community, offered aid to the owners in restoring the building, and the law firm promised that the damage would be completely repaired.

[13] Four years later, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, due primarily to its status as the home of Paris Dunning,[1] the only Indiana politician to have held every elected executive and legislative office in state government.