Designed by William H. Weeks, the Black House is a cottage model or prototype for the popular Modified Colonial Style of architecture that Weeks introduced at the end of the 19th century.

Weeks designed the house for a local farmer and civic leader whose requirements for function and economy superceded his concern for fashion. The building is late Victorian rather than early modern, as in the case of Weeks' Sargent House a few blocks from here.

The Black house is essentially Queen Anne in style. This is probably why Weeks, who was fond of representing his popular Modified Colonial style in the media, chose to define the Black project as a cottage.

Source: Adapted from the NRHP nomination submitted in 19840.