The property is located two miles from Old Franklin, the site where William Becknell and his party began the legendary Santa Fe Trail in 1821.

Hickman and his wife Sarah M. Prewitt came to the Boonslick area of Missouri from Bourbon County, Kentucky, around 1816.

The house now sits on the property of the University of Missouri Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center.

Rehabilitation efforts included pouring a new foundation; restoring original window size and replacing panes and sashes; re-shingling the roof in period materials; removing paint from and stabilizing exterior brick; refinishing original floors and woodwork; and restoring interior plaster.

In addition, the four chimneys were rebuilt from a state of disrepair, and a summer kitchen was reconstructed based on archaeological and historical information.