Located along College Street on the city's western side,[1] it was built in 1820 by Colonel William Ward, the founder of Urbana, as a wedding present for his son, John Anderson Ward.

A sculptor, Ward was known for multiple carvings of the Marquis de Lafayette, George Washington, and Oliver Hazard Perry.

[2] The Ward House is historically significant for its early architecture.

Based on a stone foundation, the brick house is a two-story structure built in an "L" plan.

Ward, led to the house's addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.