The Late Victorian structure was designed by John Lake and built in 1890.

Dobson, a "clairvoyant physician who treated patients by mail."

Patients were asked to send one dollar and a lock of hair, which would enable him to cure their ills.

The building's clock tower was built separately and was removed for scrap to help in the war effort during World War II.

This article about a property in Jackson County, Iowa on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.