Confederate General Albert G. Jenkins and his staff occupied this house from June 28 to 30, 1863. His brigade, part of General Ewell's Corps, had entered Mechanicsburg to reconnoiter the approaches to Harrisburg in preparation for an attack planned for June 30. The troops withdrew on the 30th after being ordered to Gettysburg before the battle there. The house, owned at the time by John Rupp, had been built in 1787 by his grandfather, Jonas Rupp.