Clara L. Carnahan, born in Fort Wayne in 1845, was the daughter of James Bayless Hanna, and the oldest grandchild of Samuel Hanna. She married William L. Carnahan in 1864, and they moved to Fort Wayne in 1872. While living in Fort Wayne, she was a communicant of Trinity Episcopal Church. She and William had four children; Louise, Robert H., Clara C., and Virginia C. Carnahan. Clara died in 1927.

William L. Carnahan was born in Lafayette, Indiana on March 5, 1837. Sometime after 1860, he became a member of the firm Carnahan Brothers & Co., wholesale dealers and manufacturers of shoes and boots in Lafayette. He worked as a traveling salesman with the company. In 1872, when he came to Fort Wayne, he founded the wholesale boot and shoe company of Carnahan, Skinner & Company where he worked as the supervisor of the clerical and sales departments. In 1875, the business became Carnahan, Hanna& Company, for which he was one of the principal and chief executives, and then Carnahan & Company in 1886. Carnahan & Company, located on Clinton Street, established an extensive trade business throughout four states. William continued as the executive head of the business until his death in 1897. He was a member of Company G, 67th Regiment, Infantry, Indiana volunteers, and was also a member of Trinity Episcopal Church.

The Current Owner acquired the property out of Tax Foreclosure, after it had sat empty for years. After a couple of years of restoration, including the new paint scheme, rebuilding and adding to the entire slate roof, and complete redesign of the interior; the Carnahan won the 2012 Archie Award for best Historic Restoration in the county. Located downtown in the heart of West Central, this is a much sought after space.