Thomas Roads was granted section 1174 on 14 November 1852. Thomas and Mary and their children had arrived in South Australia in 1849. Thomas and two of his sons went to the goldfields in Victoria in 1851 and were successful enough to enable Thomas to apply for land at Yankalilla. On arriving in Yankalilla he built a home here and set up a building and carpentry business. Thomas' wife Mary died in 1857 and was buried in the Wesleyan cemetery at Normanville (behind the RSL Hall). Thomas remarried in 1861. In 1884 Thomas and his son Richard exchanged house, with Richard and family moving here and Thomas and his second wife Martha moving into Richard's house at 114 Main South Road.

The house has been altered over the years. Judging from the Council's rate assessment books improvements were made to the house about 1877/8. Major changes appear to have also been made in 1905/6, and no doubt other alterations have been made since then.