This building was one of eleven built in 1833 for the United States Detroit Arsenal at Dearbornville. A walled compound, a 360 foot square, was erected to store military supplies on the frontier. Constructed of red brick in the Federal style, this arsenal was located on strategic Chicago Road, now Michigan Avenue. The quarters were a center for social and cultural events in Dearborn until they were closed in 1875. The Commandant's Quarters later became a fire station, police station, church, courthouse, school facility, library and meeting hall. The Dearborn Historical Commission acquired the building in 1949 and opened it as the city's Historical Museum on October 14, 1950.