The Morse-Skinner Ranch House stands on a one-acre remnant of a once-larger ranch. The residence, built in vernacular Greek Revival style in 1869, was altered in 1912 with the addition of Colonial Revival details. Subsequent alterations are minor.

The Morse-Skinner Ranch house was built by the prominent Lodi pioneer, Lorenzo Marion Morse.

In its earliest days, Lodi was called Mokelumne Station. Due to the mail confusion between Mokelumne Station and Mokelumne Hill, it was determined to change the name of the former settlement. Lorenzo Morse's brother Charles, a U.S. Marshal and later a prominent figure in the Bay Area, called a mass meeting of townspeople to vote upon another name for the town. The name Lodi was strongly advocated by Morse family members, and particularly Charles Morse, after a town in Illinois containing many members of the Elliot and Morse families. Lodi was chosen by town members as the new name of their settlement.

Adapted from the NRHP nomination submitted in 1986.