Early settler, Ira Minard, built this frame house in 1842. Stevens Sandborn Jones bought the house in 1843. Jones, a native of Vermont who moved to St. Charles in 1838, is thought to have proposed St. Charles’ name in 1839 after he learned that another Illinois town had already chosen the name “Charleston”. He later proved instrumental in securing the town's charter in 1849. The first lawyer in St. Charles, Jones was also a Kane County Judge from 1843-1846. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Franklin Medical College, and built the Tremont Hotel in 1850. Jones was murdered in 1877.

At one time, Jones’ law office was attached to the west side of the house. The office was moved in 1988 to its current location at the Dunham-Hunt Museum. During the Civil War, the house served as an army recruiting headquarters. The small law office building served as a holding cell for deserting soldiers. Evidence of the soldiers' presence is still apparent--an exposed portion of plaster displays the graffiti they left behind.

Today the former residence houses shops and businesses.