Fort Hunter Park was originally settled in 1725 by Benjamin Chambers, a native of Ireland who would become known as the first white settler in Franklin County, located in South Central Pennsylvania.  Grist and saw mills were erected and the property was eventually inherited by Chamber’s brother-in-law, Samuel Hunter, who renamed the property as Hunter’s Mill.

During the mounting tensions of the French and Indian War, the British procured the Hunter’s Mill property due to it being ideally situated on the bend of the Susquehanna river. The property was then known as Fort Hunter, and it became used as an alarm station and supply depot during the war.

After the conclusion of the war, Fort Hunter was left to decay until 1786 when Captain Archibald McAllister bought the land. The primitive structure built on the property was the middle “cabin” constructed by Captain McAllister.  McAllister, an officer who served directly under George Washington in the Revolutionary Army, successfully transformed Fort Hunter into a fully self-sufficient frontier village. The village contained grist and saw mills, a country store, blacksmith shop, school, artisan’s shops, a fine tavern and a distillery.  in 1814, McAllister then added the front portion of the mansion to the previously existing cabin.

In 1870 the Fort Hunter property was purchased by Daniel Dick Boas, a widely-recognized citizen in the Harrisburg area. Boas created the addition of the rear wooden portion of the mansion after purchasing the property. The mansion would eventually be willed to Boas’ daughter, Helen, and son-in-law John W. Reily. As the Reilys did not have any heir of their own, the property eventually was handed down to the Reilys’ nine nieces and nephews. It was one of these nieces, Margaret Wister Meigs, who purchased the remaining shares in order to create the Fort Hunter Museum.