It was built in about 1836, and is a -story frame mansion in a vernacular Roman Revival (or Greek Revival) style. It has a gable roof and front and rear porches with fluted Roman Doric order columns. About 1890, two Victorian bays and a kitchen wing was added. It was the home of Dr. James Bivings (1781–1869), prominent local textile pioneer, and Dexter Edgar Converse (1829–1899), industrialist, textile entrepreneur, and founder of Converse College.
