It was built in 1853 around the time when Todd moved to Tabor as a co-founder of Tabor College and the town of Tabor. John Brown visited the home around the time of his raids, and the house served as a stop on the Underground Railroad prior to the Civil War.[2] John Todd served as a model for the grandfather of the main character in the 2004 Pulitzer Prize winning book, Gilead. The house is a two-story frame clapboard structure. Todd's House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It is currently maintained as a museum by the Tabor Historical Society.