Built of limestone, the house was originally situated on a square mile of land on the north side of the Mohawk River and near it for access to water transportation.

Born in Ireland, Guy Johnson emigrated to New York as a young man, moving to the Mohawk Valley where his uncle had his base.

After his uncle William Johnson died in 1774, Guy was appointed by the Crown to succeed him as British Superintendent for Indian Affairs.

As a Loyalist Johnson risked imprisonment, because of the hostility of local settlers who favored independence in the coming American Revolutionary War.

A steady flow of migrants moved along the road in the plain by the Mohawk River as part of the European-American settlement of former Iroquois lands.

Guy Park was used for years in the early nineteenth century as a tavern and stagecoach stop, as it was on the Mohawk Turnpike next to the river, the two main transportation routes across the state.

[4] In August 2011, shortly after being occupied by the museum, the house was severely damaged by flooding of the Mohawk River in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.