It is a picturesque 1+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, built in 1871 and added to and modified in subsequent decades.

It began as a flank-gable cottage, a form typical for the time, and was gradually extended with projecting sections, additions, and an elaborately decorated porch to create a fine example of Queen Anne architecture.

The original house was built by James W. Mitchell, a clerk at a local lumber company; the additions were probably made by John H. Arnold, a real estate and insurance broker.

[2] The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 18, 1983.

This article about a Registered Historic Place in Providence County, Rhode Island is a stub.