Fort Hunter Mansion and Park is located north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The site overlooks a lovely bend in the Susquehanna River, making it a desirable location to everyone who came to the area.
The site was settled by Native Americans as discovered by the multitude of arrowheads discovered by archeologists. German and British immigrants came to the area when Pennsylvania was still a colony of the British Empire. During the French and Indian War a fort was built at this location to protect the local colonists from the Indians and the French. A man named Hunt owned the land so the fort was named after him. The fort vanished fairly quickly and a mansion was built on the farm.
Archibald McAllister owned the property and built the original 1786 house. The home was fairly basic and is now the middle section of the building. The ground floor is one large room and the sleeping quarters for the whole family was upstairs, also one large room.
The farm was prosperous enough by 1814 to enable McAllister to build a show house on the front, which is the current front facade of the building.
A wooden kitchen and servants' quarters was built on the back of the house in 1870 by Daniel Dick Boas, a subsequent owner of the house.
We took a tour of the house which started with the impressive 1814 section.
The first stop was the downstairs sitting rooms. The items in the house are mostly original to one of the families.
The staircase was definitely made to impress visitors with its grandeur and openness. It's still impressive today.
The second floor is mostly bedrooms, including the master bedroom, children's room, and guest room.
The guest bed has small wheels on the corners and a headboard that folds down. They could move the bed closer to the window on hot summer days or nights to take advantage of the cool river breezes.
Back downstairs, we saw some of the china that the family used to entertain guests.
They also had two tables with leaves that attach to each other. These made a fine dining table that takes up much of the room. With the leaves folded down, the tables can be put up against the wall, allowing a large space in the middle of the room for socializing.
The last stop on the tour was the 1870 kitchen added to the back of the house. The kitchen contains a number of gadgets from the late 1800s for cooking. The fireplace can almost be walked into, allowing the family to cook a lot of different things at the same time.
Outside, we saw the 1810 ice house. During the winter, they would collect ice off the river and pack it into the ice house with sawdust to keep it from melting too quickly. The ice typically lasted into late June! Later, the house was converted into a kennel for dogs.
By the front of the house is a memorial to Margaret Wister Meigs, a descendant of the Boas family. She had the vision to turn the home into a museum and the gumption to make it happen.
We walked down to the river to throw some stones it, since that's fun for the kids. Along the way, we saw a tree with mushrooms in its roots.
The area has a lot of other buildings like a tavern, a smokehouse, a stable, a covered bridge, and a small church. The kids were out of energy, so we left all that for another visit.
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| The mansion at Fort Hunt Mansion and Park |
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| View of the river |
The site was settled by Native Americans as discovered by the multitude of arrowheads discovered by archeologists. German and British immigrants came to the area when Pennsylvania was still a colony of the British Empire. During the French and Indian War a fort was built at this location to protect the local colonists from the Indians and the French. A man named Hunt owned the land so the fort was named after him. The fort vanished fairly quickly and a mansion was built on the farm.
Archibald McAllister owned the property and built the original 1786 house. The home was fairly basic and is now the middle section of the building. The ground floor is one large room and the sleeping quarters for the whole family was upstairs, also one large room.
 |
| The middle section of the house, the original house |
The farm was prosperous enough by 1814 to enable McAllister to build a show house on the front, which is the current front facade of the building.
 |
| Front of the house |
A wooden kitchen and servants' quarters was built on the back of the house in 1870 by Daniel Dick Boas, a subsequent owner of the house.
 |
| Kitchen area |
We took a tour of the house which started with the impressive 1814 section.
 |
| The tour starts in the shop, naturally |
The first stop was the downstairs sitting rooms. The items in the house are mostly original to one of the families.
 |
| Fireplace in the front room |
 |
| Desk in the parlor with fancy door knobs |
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| The parlor fireplace |
The staircase was definitely made to impress visitors with its grandeur and openness. It's still impressive today.
 |
| Stairs to the second floor |
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| View from the stairs |
The second floor is mostly bedrooms, including the master bedroom, children's room, and guest room.
 |
| Master bed with medicine kit and gentleman's travel kit (pay no attention to the hand) |
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| Children's bedroom |
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| Guest bedroom |
The guest bed has small wheels on the corners and a headboard that folds down. They could move the bed closer to the window on hot summer days or nights to take advantage of the cool river breezes.
Back downstairs, we saw some of the china that the family used to entertain guests.
 |
| China cabinet |
They also had two tables with leaves that attach to each other. These made a fine dining table that takes up much of the room. With the leaves folded down, the tables can be put up against the wall, allowing a large space in the middle of the room for socializing.
 |
| Transforming table |
The last stop on the tour was the 1870 kitchen added to the back of the house. The kitchen contains a number of gadgets from the late 1800s for cooking. The fireplace can almost be walked into, allowing the family to cook a lot of different things at the same time.
 |
| Table and gadgets |
 |
| Fireplace |
Outside, we saw the 1810 ice house. During the winter, they would collect ice off the river and pack it into the ice house with sawdust to keep it from melting too quickly. The ice typically lasted into late June! Later, the house was converted into a kennel for dogs.
 |
| Ice house |
By the front of the house is a memorial to Margaret Wister Meigs, a descendant of the Boas family. She had the vision to turn the home into a museum and the gumption to make it happen.
 |
| Meigs Memorial |
We walked down to the river to throw some stones it, since that's fun for the kids. Along the way, we saw a tree with mushrooms in its roots.
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| Can we eat them? |
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| Train bridge over the Susquehanna River |
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| Looking for stones to throw |
The area has a lot of other buildings like a tavern, a smokehouse, a stable, a covered bridge, and a small church. The kids were out of energy, so we left all that for another visit.
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