Maurice B. Quivey was born in Hamlin, New York and came to Alliance, Nebraska in 1900. He moved to the town of Mitchell five years later. Quivey was co-owner with F. M. Raymond of the Mitchell Mercantile Company, a general merchandise store. The Mitchell Mercantile Company operated until the 1930s and was one of the largest stores of its kind in western Nebraska, serving local ranchers and farmers. Mitchell Mercantile Company sold groceries, clothing, shoes, hardware, furniture, and even included an undertaking department.

Located in Mitchell, the M. B. Quivey house is architecturally significant as a representation of the Prairie Style of architecture that was popular in the Midwest from 1900 until World War I. Reflecting the flat terrain of Midwestern prairies; the Prairie style gives viewers a sense of cohesiveness between building and landscape and is characterized by the use of natural materials with a strong horizontal emphasis in design.  Most houses of its type have two stories, low roof lines, and wide overhanging eaves. Illustrating this horizontal pattern and large roof overhangs, the Quivey house is a modest interpretation of the Prairie style.
The house is a two-and-one-half-story brick and frame dwelling.  J. W. Hall designed the  house, which Quivey had built in 1914. The property includes a garage and a one-story frame gazebo located behind the house. Other examples of Hall’s work as architect and designer can be found throughout the region such as the Christian Church in Mitchell, the interior of the Mitchell Mercantile Company’s store, and numerous private residences.

The interior of the home has several distinctive features including original crystal chandeliers from Bohemia, an ornate open stairway in the front foyer, beamed ceilings, and a built-in china closet in the dining room. Wooden doors are inlaid with ebony and mahogany in a linear design.

The house served as the Mr. and Mrs. Quivey’s home until they divorced in 1927, after which Mrs. Quivey had the home converted into apartments.