The Amaziah N. Swallow House is a rare example in Charlestown of a temple-front house, a type that was then fashionable with the elite. However, its plan of a side hall with two rooms front to back remained extremely popular regionally throughout the nineteenth century. The Ionic columns, facade flush-board siding, and full-height first-story windows are common features of this form. Unusual for Charlestown is the house's setback. Ezra D. Fogg, a Charlestown lumber dealer, built the house, which changed owners frequently during its first decade. Amaziah N. Swallow, the house's fifth owner and long-term occupant, operated a grocery store in City Square known as The Big Store.