Thames Street, once the focus of Bristol's maritime economy, was densely lined with stores and warehouses long before the Revolutionary War, but this building is one of the few to survive largely intact. A stout gambrel-roofed structure, it placed living quarters above the commercial floor. It was standing in 1794 when it passed from John Usher to his sons, Hezekiah and George, merchants and slave traders. Since then it has served variously as a blacksmith shop, grocery store, and antique shop.