Fort Hunter

Fort Hunter. . , History , Prior to European settlement this land was inhabited by the Susquehannock and Delaware Indian tribes., Around 1750 Samuel Hunter married the widow Catherine Chambers and settled here to run her gristmill., The Fort at Hunter’s Mill or Fort Hunter was built here in 1755 by the British to protect settlers from Indian attacks. The Fort was later abandoned., Captain Archibald McAllister (1756-1831) purchased the land of the old mill and old fort in 1787. Over the years he made many improvements to his plantation including the Tavern House, Stone Stables, ice houses, spring house and Mansion House., Captain John McAllister (1790-1866) bought his father’s estate in 1833. He was actively involved in the construction and operation of the Pennsylvania Canal which traveled through this property on its way to Pittsburgh. , Daniel Dick Boas (1816-1878) bought Fort Hunter in 1870 for use as a gentleman’s farm and as a summer home. He renovated many of the buildings and built the large dairy barn., Helen Boas Reily (1861-1932) and John Reily (1860-1927) lived on her father’s estate from their marriage in 1887 until their deaths. They increased the original acreage from 150 to 1500 and were well known and liked in the Harrisburg area. , Mrs. Reily’s niece, Margaret Wister Meigs (1882-1958) of Philadelphia and Washington DC inherited as well as purchased Fort Hunter in 1933 to preserve it and to create a museum of American History., The four children of Margaret Wister Meigs generously donated the property to the citizens of Dauphin County in 1980., The Fort Hunter District is on the National Register of Historic Places.