The house was constructed before 1907 when Willis S. Duniway (1856-1913) and wife Alice McCormack Duniway are listed in Polk’s Salem City Directory as residents there. Willis Duniway was the eldest son of Benjamin and Abigail Scott Duniway, early Oregon settlers. Abigail Scott Duniway was a pioneer advocate of women’s suffrage.

When the residences of “Piety Hill” were demolished for the construction of the North Capitol Mall (1937-57), this one was shared. It was, at the time of the move, the residence of Louis Lachmund, President of the Capital Ice and Cold Storage Company for 20 years and mayor of Salem, was spared. It was purchased from the state by Willamette University and moved to the campus where it was the residence of the president. In the 1990s it was moved to its present location east at 2430 State Street.