It occupies a prominent site in Sitka, located on a small island in the harbor at the end of a 400-foot (120 m) causeway.

In 1915, W. P. Mills, son of one of the former American owners of the saltery after the Alaska Purchase, hired Seattle-based architect Louis L. Mendal to design a house to stand on the old saltery's foundation.

The design, which used the foundation as well as the massive wooden door of the saltery, adapted the foundation to provide a sheltered and private courtyard space, and to take advantage of the expansive views available.

[2] The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

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