[1] The house, set well back from the highway, is a single-story wood-frame structure, with a side gable roof and a projecting gable-roof section on the front (western) facade.

The Township of Cane Hill was established in 1829 and was mostly populated by members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

The church leaders recognized the need for its congregation to be literate, and Canehill School was established in 1834.

By 1850 it had been renamed to Canehill Collegiate Institute and was capable of granting two-year degrees.

[3] Cane Hill College was burned by Union forces during the American Civil War, with only a dormitory being used as a hospital surviving.