J. R. Knapp and Edward Townsend were partners in the banking firm of Townsend and Knapp. They were also brothers-in-law, having married sisters. Knapp built this house in 1867, but both families lived in it.

Tragically, both sisters died within a year of each other. Townsend built a new house and left the banking business. In 1879, he was a founder of Townsend and Merrill Lumber Company.

Knapp stayed on in the house until he lost his bank in the depression of the 1890's. He left Cedar Falls a broken man, and later committed suicide.

The Cedar Falls Woman's Club acquired the house in 1929 through the generosity of Gus and Henry Pfeiffer, who gave $10,000 to the project in honor of their sister, Emma Pfeiffer Merner. The Ballroom addition to the home was designed by Mortimer Cleveland.