One of the county's earliest surviving houses serves as the core of this building. It was erected by local folk legend Jacob Persinger, who as a child was captured by Indians and adopted a Native American lifestyle before being returned six years later by Shawnee chief Cornstalk. Persinger became a farmer. The original dwelling, now the left three bays of a larger house, is of log construction, two stories in height, with a rectangular form and a hall-parlor plan created by a partition of beveled-edge vertical walnut boards. Paneled wainscoting defines the perimeter walls and an unusual, somewhat naive Federal mantel (early though not original) serves as a focal point. The house achieved its present appearance in 1857, when a two-story addition that included the two-level gallery porch with Chinese lattice railing and ornamental frieze cutout was built, along with a rear ell expansion that linked a formerly detached kitchen to the house.