 Francis Timoney, an Irish immigrant, built the house in 1889 of bricks his three yards had made from clay found along the east bank of the Hudson River just below it.The nearby New York Central Water Level Route gave him and the other brickmakers in the area easy access to New York City and other area markets, allowing him to do well enough to build the estate.It has many common elements of the Second Empire style, such as quoining on the corners and a mansard roof.