Oxford House was designed for UND’s newly married president Dr. Webster Merrifield and his wife, Elizabeth Bull Merrifield. At the time of its construction, it was considered one of the most fashionable and modern buildings in the “Northwest” (the term popular at the time for the developing Dakota region), featuring such conveniences as electricity, speaking tubes, and a dumbwaiter. The Colonial Revival house is built of granite and gray granite-surfaced pressed brick, with exterior woodwork painted gloss-white to give the illusion of marble. This building is now used as the university’s alumni center.