The Captain George Anderson House is an example of the rare Romantic Octagon architectural style, which features rooms with eight corners. The style was briefly fashionable in North America during the 1850s, popularized by Orson Squire Fowler in his 1848 book, The Octagon House: A Home for All. It is believed this house may be the only remaining building of this style in New Brunswick, and one of only twenty left in Canada. It is also notable for being the dwelling of local mariner and shipbuilder Captain George Anderson, who constructed ships at the nearby Dixon shipyard. He built four vessels between 1863 and 1872.
 
In 1901, the house was sold by Thomas Rheese Anderson to Horatio Richardson. The Octagonal House was then was utilized by Enterprise Foundry Co. Ltd as storage space for stove manufacturing patterns.
 
The Town of Sackville later purchased the property, relocating and renovating it. The building was reopened as the Sackville Visitor Information Center in June 1989. Today it is owned by Tantramar Heritage Trust and is a part of the Boultenhouse Heritage Centre complex. It houses the Alec R. Purdy Tantramar History and Genealogy Research Centre on its main floor.