Wanton enlarged the house by adding a south wing and a second chimney, transforming the building into a formal Georgian mansion with a large central hall.

Wanton remained a Loyalist during the American Revolution, and General William West ordered him to be imprisoned in Providence and tried by the legislature.

After the war, Senator and Ambassador William Hunter bought the house and transformed it into a formal Georgian Colonial mansion with a large central hall.

The house was purchased in 1945 to prevent its demolition, leading to the formation of the Preservation Society of Newport County, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark on November 24, 1968.

Ralph Carpenter supervised the furniture restoration which includes "floor-to-ceiling paneling framed with bolection moldings, intricately twisted balusters on the stairs, eighteenth-century Delft tiles around many of the fireplaces, pilasters with Corinthian capitals, and marbleizing and grain painting throughout.