Near the end of the 19th century, Fredericton experienced a major economic boom, leading to widespread growth. The physical boundaries of the town expanded, resulting in Westmorland Street, which had originally ended at Charlotte Street, being extended to Saunders Street in 1890 and then again in 1895 to the newly created Aberdeen Street.

William Joseph Scarr was an architect who decided to capitalize on this expansion. He focused on creating cottages on these new streets. He engaged in speculative housing, where the houses were constructed without a specific buyer in mind with the hope that they would be purchased after completion. This strategy was very risky, as failure to sell even a single house would be a significant blow to his finances and credibility.

In 1896, he completed his first cottage at 327 Westmorland Street. In all, he built a total of ten cottages which all shared a similar design. They are one-and-a-half stories tall, have an L-shaped plan, and are built from wood. The architecture is a combination of the Queen Anne Revival and Classical Revival styles, and the houses are all topped by a medium-pitched gable roof with returned eaves. These features allow the cottages to be easily recognized.

Despite decent sales, the riskiness of Scarr's financial endeavours caught up to him, and he ended up running a deficit. Creditors came after him, and he found himself unable to pay them. He absconded in 1901, sneaking aboard a westward train along with his eldest son shortly after completing his final house at 348 Westmorland Street. He left behind unpaid debts, unfinished contracts (including one for the prolific 1901 Exhibition Building), and most of his family.

Though he never returned to Fredericton, he continued to practice housing contracting at his new home in British Columbia and again after resettling in Alberta, where he reunited with his family.