The house was built sometime between 1768 and 1770 for Isaac Potts, an iron master and one of the owners of Valley Forge, and by the winter encampment in 1777 he had rented it to his aunt, Deborah Hewes. During the encampment, George and Martha Washington slept there, along with many of Washington's aides-de-camp or secretaries, and as many as 25 people from his military household may have lived there, including military staff and household workers, both free and enslaved. The Continental Army did not forcibly seize the property but paid Isaac Potts 100 pounds in Pennsylvania currency for its use. Washington refused any salary as commander-in-chief, instead keeping a detailed expense account that the government paid. The house was relatively new when the army occupied it, and because Washington found it too small, a log structure that no longer survives was added during the encampment to accommodate the numbers living and working there. Most furnishings there are reproductions of items known to have been used by Washington and his military household during the encampment, along with similar items that Deborah Hewes might have left behind and some period pieces. The larger section of the building retains its 1777 appearance, while research, archaeological investigation, and anecdotal histories led to the most recent restoration in 1975. After the Revolution, the property remained a family home until 1878, when the Centennial and Memorial Association of Valley Forge bought it for preservation and commemoration of the encampment; in 1893 Pennsylvania acquired the house and surrounding land to form its first state park, and in 1976 stewardship passed to the National Park Service.
