Sophia J. Hahn bought property in Irvington in 1891 for the construction of a home for her daughter and son-in-law, Oscara and John Povey.  This house was constructed soon after, and the three moved into it in August, 1891.  This was one of the first homes built in this section of Irvington.  Just a couple of years later, the Panic of 1893 brought a halt to residential construction in the area, and it wasn't until the building boom of 1905 brought on by the Lewis and Clark Exposition, that land sales in this part of the neighborhood resumed.  As a result, this home is one of the relatively few Victorian period structures to be found in Irvington.

John Povey was vice president of the Povey Brothers Art & Stained Glass Works.  John and his brother David had started the firm in 1888.  For a number of years, the Povey firm was the only stained glass works in the Pacific Northwest, and they prospered through the last years of the 19th century and early years of the 20th with the region's rapid growth.  Povey stained glass windows are notable for their use of "jewels", small, thickly cut faceted pieces of glass in rich colors, and for the use of American opalescent glass, but they also freely used imported glass from Europe in creating elaborate windows for the evolving tastes and expanding wealth of the community.  

The Povey firm began its decline with the death of John Povey in 1917, and with the stylistic changes in residential building soon after that, which eschewed stained glass.  The firm carried on after the death of David Povey in 1924, but was finally sold to Seattle interests in 1929, and disappeared soon after.  Buildings known to have Povey glass windows include the Pittock Mansion and the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Portland.  Many Portland residences may be assumed to have Povey glass, but among those known to have it are the John Palmer House and the Lytle-Hawley House (now the Portland White House Bed and Breakfast in Irvington).

The house was placed on the National Register in 1998 in recognition of its association with John Povey and its exemplification of a fine Victorian residence, with most of its original features intact, in a neighborhood where few such homes survive.