The grand Châteauesque stone and brick residence was built for Egbert Barry Cornwall Hambley, a Cornish-born civil and mining engineer who came to North Carolina to work in gold mining before becoming involved in development of hydroelectric power on the Yadkin River. The house and the grounds make extensive use of granite from quarries owned by Hambley near the present town of Granite Quarry in eastern Rowan County. The scale and elaborateness of the mansion and its grounds made it exceptional in Salisbury and the state. The Salisbury Evening Sun of October 17, 1901 reported that Hambley had let the contract to the Lazenby Brothers for his residence “which Architect Hook says will be one of the finest in North Carolina.” “These gentlemen have been among the most successful contractors in North Carolina and the fact that they win out over all other competitors is a credit to them.”