It is a two-story L-shaped brick structure, with a gabled roof, five corbelled chimneys, and a single-story ell to the rear.

A two-story porch is set in the crook of the L. The most prominent feature of the exterior is the windows of its principal elevations, which are set in arched openings framed by dentillated brick hoods.

[3] The house was built in 1865 for James B. Weaver, an Ohio native who settled in newly formed Bloomfield in 1847.

Politically active, he helped organize Iowa's Republican Party, and served in the Union Army in the American Civil War.

After passing through several private owners, it was acquired by the Davis County Chautauqua Association, which operated it for a time as a historic house museum.