The original two-storey brick house supported by limestone piers and overlooking Macdonald Park was built in 1830 by architect Thomas Rogers, and was later expanded in 1865. The property was then acquired on May 1, 1905 by Sarah Francis Bermingham and Cornelius Bermingham (aunt and uncle to Katherine Bermingham Macklem) for $8,500.

A two-storey Classical Revival style portico addition featuring four prominent wooden columns in the Ionic order highlighting the main entrance was completed in 1906 by architect Frank Lent, from Gananoque, Ontario. These columns are repeated in the single-story verandah to the side and back of the house. A variety of window styles are utilized including rectangular-headed, Italianate round-head and French openings, all unified by emphasis on the heavy surrounds treated in a Renaissance manner.

Following Cornelius' death in 1932, the house was bequeathed to his brother, Christopher William Bermingham, who later sold it to his daughter and final owner, Katherine Bermingham Macklem for $1. The house was donated to Queen's University in 1993 and has become the home to the offices of the dean for their Faculty of Health Sciences.
 

In 2021, G. Bruce Stratton Architects was commissioned by Queen's University to complete exterior restorations to the building to replace like-for-like, in detailing and materials, the front (east) portico floor planks, stairs and buttresses, the side (north) veranda floor planks, stairs and railings, the side (south) veranda floor planks and railings, and the rear (west) stairs and railings. The four large wood columns at the front portico were repaired on-site and the deteriorated wood bases were replaced. The sixteen smaller columns at the north, east and south verandas were repaired off-site and the deteriorated wood bases were replaced.

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This project was awarded a 2023 Heritage Conservation Award by the Frontenac Heritage Foundation. The Katherine Bermingham Macklem House is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.