The house passed to Henry McCleary in 1843 and William Rainey Harper was born in the cabin in 1856.

[2] Although William left for Yale in 1872, the house remained in the Harper family until it was sold in 1904.

The house was purchased by Muskingum College in 1918 and would remain so until 1987, and saw a photography studio as well as a classroom during that time.

[3] The two-story house is constructed of local hewn logs and designed in the Federal style.

The gabled roof rests on a simple entablature with a chimney situated at either side of the house.