One of the Mormon pioneers, John Steele built the house in 1862 and lived there until his death in 1903, working as an herbal physician and serving in a number of town and county offices.

[2] It is one of only three well-documented examples of a double-parlor house in Utah: it is divided into two parlors and a narrower hall on the northern end.

"[2] Toquerville had only been founded three years ago when John Steele moved there from nearby Parowan in 1861, as part of southern Utah's settlement by the Mormons.

Experienced with making and laying adobe brick, which he had done in Salt Lake City, Steele probably built the house himself that year.

But "Doc" Steele derived much of his reputation from setting bones, administering herbal medicines and making horoscopes.