Henry Hudson Pringle established a retail and wholesale hardware business at Hastings in 1856, and this building was especially built for that business. Originally, it was a three-story stone structure with a rounded roof and two front entrances, one on Second Street and the other on the levee. In 1901, the rounded roof was squared off, giving the building a full third floor. In 1978, the property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior.