The land was deeded by Crown Patent to John Brant, son of Joseph Brant, in 1816. In 1836 it was bought by Augustus Bates, who deeded it to his daughter Rachel, who was married to Philo D. Bates. In 1855 Jesse Nickerson, a jeweler, bought the property and apparently built the property and apparently built an early part of the house. In 1872 it was bought by William Dalton, who rebuilt it with a new foundation. The house was enlarged, perhaps even doubled in size. Heavy exterior doors, after this enlargement, connected interior rooms. In 1878 the house, named “Chestnut Villa”, was sold to Amanda Baxter, widow of Thomas Baxter. She added the late Victorian improvements such as the bay windows, the front gable, and the front vestibule.
In 19106 the property was bought by Maxwell C. Smith, who was Mayor of Burlington in 1915, 1916, and 1919. It was he who obtained federal funding from Ottawa for the construction of a breakwater on the lake frontage in Burlington. He is said to be the inventor of the white line to divide the two lanes of traffic on the Number 2 Highway (then Water Street, now Lakeshore Road), when it was reconstructed in 1914. Smith was responsible for the construction of the two-level verandah on the lake side of the house.
In 1978 the property was sold by Drs Terry and Joanne Richards to a developer for inclusion in a luxury condominium project. The house was moved 110 feet closer to the Lakeshore Road, to accommodate the new building behind. After two years of being left vacant, subject to vandalism and the destructive forces of weather and vermin, the house was restored in 1984 by Freure Construction, as advised by John Williams of Kadlick & Williams, and converted into two semi-detached luxury condominium units. One of the present owners is Mary Munro, former Mayor of Burlington (dates?). The other unit was bought by the late Walter Sedlbauer.
