The home was built by industrialist Abram Gaar,[2] president of Gaar-Scott and Company, manufacturers of steam engines and threshing machines from 1842 to 1911.

In the 1970s, Joanna Hill Mikesell, granddaughter of the builder and his wife Agnes restored the home which had remained in her family since it was built.

She established the non-profit Agnes and Abram Gaar Foundation to assume ownership of the house, its contents and a few outbuildings.

The home holds a significant collection of Victorian decorative arts including nearly all the original Eastlake style furnishings, some of which were purchased from the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

in addition to the house and furnishings, the Foundation's collection holds a number of archival items relating to the history of the Gaar-Scott company and the Gaar family.