Brandon-on-the-Dan represents over two centuries of architectural development. Construction began circa 1810-1825 with a small house of dovetail-notched log construction that may have later served briefly as a tavern. In the 1850s, George and Tabitha Brandon built a two-story Greek Revival frame house next to the log dwelling. The antebellum house features spirited vernacular mantels and stair details, and other ornament produced in the workshop of free African American cabinetmaker Thomas Day of Milton, North Carolina. In 1913, Danville architect James Woodson Hopper designed Craftsman-style features for the house including a new porch and fireplace mantels. The property also contains an extensive African American cemetery dating to the 19th century.