Rulfs purchased much of this city block in 1888, where this center-hall cottage may have already existed. When they first arrived at Nacogdoches, the family rented a farm three miles out of town, but the commute proved impractical for Rulfs’s business. The small building was first the family residence and later his office, with a lumberyard behind. On lots to the east, Rulfs eventually built a large family house and two rental houses (only this cottage survives). The end-gabled house has a front gabled porch, and rear additions include an L-wing and a shed-roofed room. During renovations in 2011, it was discovered that much of the lumber appeared to have been salvaged from other of Rulfs’s projects and reused to build and expand the house.