Stonecutter Van Kirk built this Federal-style brick town house for himself and fabricated the marble exterior trim (the lintels banded with stone and brick are distinctive) and interior chimneypieces. He sold it to Jacob Starr, waterman, in 1806. It survived the explosion of three DuPont powder wagons on a nearby street in 1854, which cracked its yellow pine doors. The house remained in the Starr family until 1945, at which time it was recognized as one of the best preserved historic houses in Wilmington. Albert Kruse restored it for the new owner in 1946–1947, adding modern facilities, a shingle roof, and shutters. It became an attorney's office in 1954 and remains so today.