Corydon Brown, a member of a well-to-do family in Syracuse, New York, decided to move to Dakota City, Iowa in the 1860s.

Brown's wife did not want to leave the comforts of the city for the hard prairie living that was guaranteed in Iowa.

When Brown reached Dakota City, he found men living in log cabins and caves near the Des Moines River.

Brown purchased over 600 acres (240 ha) of prairie, and began to build a home using area clay for bricks and limestone.

The house features a bracketed cornice on the front and side elevations, and brick quoining on the corners, and two porches with flat roofs and narrow wooden posts.