The Plumb-Bronson House was originally a c. 1812 Federal style residence built for Samuel Plumb. Similarities in the interior detailing with the Vanderpoel House in Kinderhook suggest that the original house may have been the work of Barnabas Waterman, to whom the Vanderpoel House is attributed.

In 1838, the house was purchased by Dr. Oliver Bronson, who, in 1839, commissioned Alexander Jackson Davis, the premier architect of the time, to “refit” the house. Davis extended the eaves and added decorative brackets. He also added a veranda that extends the full width of the east façade. These alterations are of special significance because they are very early examples of a particularly American style—what has come to be called Hudson River “bracketed.” The house’s projecting eaves and decorative brackets are among the earliest examples of such detailing in this country. The east veranda may be one of the earliest ornamental porches in the United States.