Robert Newberry Dougherty, son of Dougherty community founder James W. Dougherty, assumed management of his father's farm in the 1860s and by 1870 was sole owner of the family land. At this site in 1880-81 he erected a one-room house to which later additions were made. The Dougherty family has maintained the home since its construction and has often opened it for community gatherings. Over the years, the homeplace has been the site of weddings, music festivals, and family reunions, and at one time served as headquarters for the Dougherty Rural Telephone Co.