Built in the early 18th century, the mansion is one of the finest examples of Palladian architecture in the United States.

William Peters, an English lawyer and land management agent for the Penn family, bought the property, then a group of farms, in 1742.

Many prominent figures in the Revolution stayed at the mansion at this time, including George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison.

In anticipation of the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876, a large dining pavilion was built alongside the mansion.

The site continued to be used for public entertaining until it became a historic house museum under the management of the American Women's Heritage Society in 1986.