After adventurous service as a sea captain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Captain Ebe Townsend Chandler returned to his hometown of Frankford and purchased the house in 1918. Built by Captain Joshua Townsend, the main two-and-a-half story Victorian Gothic building and three smaller rear outbuildings date from 1878. During an extensive remodel, Captain Chandler added elaborate gothic details to the exterior of the main building, successfully distinguishing it from others in Sussex County, and the house was moved back a short distance to accommodate a grand wraparound front porch. Among its most unique features are two octagonal gazebos with multicolored glass-paned dormers, located to the left and right of the porch. Captain Chandler lived there with his wife, Hettie Jane Bishop, and their two children. After public service in various capacities, including as mayor of Bethany Beach from 1930 to 1937, he died in 1956 at the age of 98 and was buried in the Carey Cemetery near Frankford. Members of the Chandler family lived in the house for five generations, and it was named to the National Register of Historic Places on September 20, 1979.