[2] The house was built by a local contractor, probably John C. Rue, who later married the Clarkes' housemaid, Elizabeth (Betsy) Saunders.

In the mid-20th century, it was cared for by a church, its leader Bishop Ford and his wife, Margaret, who spurred its preservation as the city's oldest home.

Its current location in a park and gardens is part of the Prairie Avenue Historic District in the Near South Side community area.

[3] Clarke suffered severe financial setbacks during the Panic of 1837 and used the surrounding land for farming and hunting.

[8] In 1871 John Chrimes, a prominent Chicago tailor, purchased the house and moved it farther south to 45th Street and Wabash Avenue into what was then the township of Hyde Park.

In 1977, the City of Chicago purchased the house and moved it to its current location, a project that included lifting the entire building over the L tracks on the Englewood-Jackson Park line.

After an increase in public interest in the history of the preservation of the house, the St. Paul Church of God in Christ began to generate support for renaming it to honor Bishop Louis Henry Ford.