Built 1860–61, it was the home of the "father of American forestry," Franklin Hough (1822-1885), a medical doctor, scientist, historian who served as the first chief of the United States Division of Forestry, the predecessor of the United States Forest Service.

It is 2+1⁄2 stories in height, built out of brick and covered by a truncated hip roof.

Most windows are set in openings topped by heavy segmented-arch hood mouldings.

Hough was one of the first people in the nation to articulate significant concern for the state of its forests, observing that forestry products had declined in New York in the 1850s and 1860s.

In 1876, he was appointed the first federal government official responsible for overseeing the nation's forests.