The house's prominent location at the city's edge and its distinctive architecture have made it a local landmark, and it has been designated a historic site.

The Doan House was constructed in 1840 as the home of James Wilson,[2]: 149  who with his wife Eleanor was the superintendent of the Clinton County Infirmary from 1836 until 1840.

During the time that the Doans owned the house, they modernized it by adding numerous Italianate features to the original Federal-style components.

At the age of twenty-two, he was admitted to the bar, and he split the following fifteen years between private practice and service as a deputy clerk and prosecutor for Clinton County.

Despite his military service, Doan was a leader in a local Monthly Meeting of Friends; he was also a Mason and a post commander for the Grand Army of the Republic.