The complex includes a 19th-century house, former tavern, and barn, all built by members of the McNeil family, the first operators of the Charlotte-Essex Ferry, whose eastern terminus is just south of the property.

Oriented facing south toward the cove are a c. 1800 Federal period wood-frame house and an 1830 Greek Revival tavern, now used as a residence.

[2] John McNeil settled this area in 1787, moving here from Tinmouth, where he had lost property during the American Revolutionary War due to his supposed Loyalist sympathies.

It was a highly lucrative operation in the first half of the 19th century, and McNeil's son built the tavern in 1830 to serve the passenger trade.

Freight business declined on the route due to expanding railroad networks and the McNeils returned to farming as a primary activity.