Alexander Calvin McEwen, one of the first settlers and credited for giving Holly Springs its name, built the home shortly after coming to the area in 1834. When McEwen’s banking business went under he surrendered the house which then became the home of Winfield Scott Featherston and his wife Elizabeth in 1858. They lived in the home and raised a large family in the small raised basement cottage until the early 1900’s when Oscar Johnson purchased the home along with two others and made them into guest homes for his many guests. He hired renowned architect Theodore Link, who designed the Mississippi State Capitol, to make all of the homes look more similar.