Built in 1890, the home was occupied from 1922 to 1937 by Lucy Slowe and Mary Burrill, notable African American educators who are thought by historians to have been a couple.

The house at 1256 Kearney Street NE was built for the original owner James T. Ward, an Irish immigrant, in 1890.

[6][5] They frequently used the property's spacious rear yard for social gatherings of African-American women intellectuals.

[3][4] Howard president Mordecai W. Johnson at one point pressured Slowe to move onto campus, but she fought to remain in the house at 1256 Kearney.

[3] The pair lived there together for 15 years until Slowe's death in 1937, after which a mourning Burrill sold the house and moved into an apartment near Howard.