Location, masonry, architecture and village history indicate that this one and a half story Fereral cottage, with its kitchen originally in the basement, was built in 1836 as a parsonage for the church by John Proctor. Mr. Proctor, village founder and catalyst to the building of the church, owned the land on which the house stands from settlement to 1861. In 1861 Mary Ann Dwinnell purchased the house and the mortgage was held by her nephew Horace Greely until 1864.

Many of Mr. Greely's family and friends were already residents of this area. E.R. Reynolds,than an attorney in Albion and Greeley's lifelong friend from Vermont, handled the sale of the property in 1864.
In 1975 the Cobblestone Society purchased the home, along with some of its Victorian contents, from its last owner, Mrs. Inez Ward, for whom the house is named.