Built sometime after the American Civil War, it was from 1874 until his death the home of Matthew Stanley Quay (1833–1904), a United States senator and one of the most influential political party bosses of the late 19th century.

[1] The Matthew S. Quay House is south of Beaver's downtown, at the northwest corner of College Avenue and 2nd Street.

There is a small ell projecting to the north (right), and a longer one to the rear, the latter a probable alteration by Matthew Stanley Quay.

Quay was trained as a lawyer and served in the Union Army during the war, winning a Medal of Honor for action in the Battle of Fredericksburg.

He joined with the political machine of Simon Cameron, and eventually gained full control of the state party apparatus, which won him election to the U.S. Senate in 1887.