The Queen Anne style home was designed and constructed in 1890 or 1892 by the same architect and general contractor responsible for Altgeld Hall at Northern Illinois University and the nearby DeKalb County Courthouse, as well as the courthouse in Lee County.

[2] Frederick B. Townsend was born in Malta Township, DeKalb County, Illinois in 1858.

This native son belonged to an elite family tree that included such prominent residents as Daniel Pierce, his maternal grandfather, who founded the National Bank & Trust Co. in 1867.

Townsend married Mary Boynton, the daughter of a lender and land speculator in 1890.

Unlike the Garage, however, only the lower portion of the house and porch facade and the foundation utilizes the boulders.