Yldefonso Montalvo (1855-1941) built the dwelling about 1887. He was the educated son of an English mother and a Mexican father. He and his wife Guadalupe Reischman Montalvo raised nine children in the house. At the time, the property was home to gardens full of edible plants and orchards, a barn and numerous farm animals, and a hand-built rock well used by the larger community, which still exists today as a viable well.

Constructed using cedar posts, lath, and caliche, this modest two-room home is a good example of a folk-style hall-and-parlor residence built with local materials. The building was awarded the distinction as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1979, and was given Texas Historic Marker 3440, which it bears today.

According to the nonprofit organization that currently runs The Montalvo House:

"It is the intent of The Montalvo House nonprofit organization to restore both the building and land as a community project to illustrate not only the history of Southwest Texas architecture, but also to illustrate and teach how it was possible for our ancestors to achieve sustainable living in hopes that we may teach our current youth and visitors how to achieve equitable sustainability in the present.

We plan to incorporate modern technologies into our restoration, such as rooftop rainwater collection systems, landscape rainwater collection planning, and solar/wind energy systems as examples of sustainable, practical options."