A note in one of Howard Buswell's files, located in the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, identifies John Alexander (a prominent settler on Whidbey Island) as being in charge of the construction.

It was initially used as a storehouse of the T. G. Richards Company, supplying those stopping in what was then the town of Whatcom, Washington Territory, on their way to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush.

Originally being bounded by the tide flats of the bay, in 1874 a breakwater was added in to protect the building's foundation from the sea.

In 1889 the building was deemed unsafe for use, and the county government offices and jail were moved to temporary quarters nearby.

In 1890-1891, the Women's Relief Corps (WRC), an organization benefiting veterans of the American Civil War, began to rent the building.

Later occupants include the members of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, a Jehovah's Witness Church, Aker's Taxidermy, The Northwest Passage (a 60s - 70s alternative newspaper), Base Camp, and lastly, a home to different artists and pottery makers.