[2][3] The two-story brick home was built in 1858 by Dr. Dean Jewett Locke, one of the founders of Lockeford.

The home had twenty-two rooms and housed the Locke family with thirteen children.

[3] The two-story barn was built of adobe and brick, and is approximately 60 by 80 feet (18 m × 24 m) in plan.

[2] The second floor of the barn served as a community meeting place for groups such as the Lockeford Good Templar Society, the Congregational Church, and the Ladies Home Library Association.

During the American Civil War, it served as the armory of the Mokelumne Dragoons, the local (union) militia.