The house was built by Thomas J. B. Turner and his wife, Sarah Jetton Turner, and completed in 1843. It is a two-story brick house built on an I-house plan. Greek Revival architectural influences characteristic of antebellum architecture are evident in its design, which features a divided pedimented portico with square Doric columns and a balustrade. The name of the house derives from the boxwood plantings on the grounds, which are said to have originated with plants that Turner brought to Tennessee in a powder horn.