Abner Phillips and his wife Nancy Beck came to this area in the early 1830s and eventually acquired 240 acres. She died in 1837, and in 1841 he married Nancy Broadwell. The two unions produced 15 children. Five sons served in the Civil War, and only one survived. Construction of the house began in 1859 and was completed in 1862, shortly after Abner's death. The family lived in a log cabin behind the house until the home was completed. Abner was a founding member of both Providence Baptist Church and Boiling Springs Primitive Baptist Church.