The house was designed by Waters and built in 1883 for Moses Hooper.

Hooper was an Oshkosh attorney who represented Kimberly-Clark among others, and was such an authority on riparian rights that he appeared before the US Supreme Court repeatedly.

In 1900 the house was bought by Dr. Charles Oviatt, a noted surgeon who insisted that nuns assisting in surgery wear sterilized garb rather than woolen habits, and eventually received a letter of agreement from Pope Leo XIII.

The school has used it as a girl's dormitory, the president's residence and a charity headquarters.

[4] It is located in the Oshkosh State Normal School Historic District.