The house was built by Abner Pratt, a former chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court and United States Consul to Hawaii under President James Buchanan.

Pratt lived in the Hawaiian islands for many years, and after settling in Marshall, he began to recreate his former surroundings by building Honolulu House.

[4] The Honolulu house has a sprawling wraparound porch, reminiscent of the Hawaiian 'Iolani Palace.

The front of the house has a deep, wide veranda supported by ornamental columns on sandstone piers.

Above is a hipped roof, with four symmetrically placed chimneys, and a distinctive pagoda-roofed tower sitting above the main doorway and entrance stairs.