Prior to the Civil War, Ham Brown was a free man of color. On May 21, 1866, he purchased the cabin in Bloomfield, and it remained in his family until 1980. Ham Brown, a shoemaker, and Adeline Brown had seven children. Built about 1850 as slave quarters, the cabin was later vacant and in disrepair, then moved to Walnut Groves farm and restored in 1998.