[2] Colonel Adelbert Mossman (1848–1945), an American Civil War veteran of the 35th New Jersey Infantry Regiment, designed the house for himself.

[2] While his house was being built Mossman also worked as a buyer for the Massachusetts Office of the Superintendent of Buildings, which likely facilitated his home's construction.

The Colonel Adelbert Mossman house is a well-preserved exemplar of Queen Anne style architecture and craft.

[2] Key exterior features include a tower capped by a conical roof, bay windows, high gables with decorative woodwork, carved brackets and moulding, and a wraparound porch with grouped turned columns and spindlework valances.

[2] Interior architectural elements include pocket doors, non-rectilinear walls and ceilings, detailed mantels, an intricate main stair with gas lamps placed on top of carved newels, and Victorian woodwork detailing throughout.