Built in 1855 by Dover Iron Company builders as a duplex patch house on property owned by James and Thomas Maloney, the house was sold in 1879 to mining widow Bridget Smith as a two-family residence. In 1912 it was renovated as a single-family home and rented to Jesse and Ida McConnell, and Ida McConnell lived there for 77 years. In 1993 the property was deeded to the Township of Mine Hill. In 1998 exterior restoration was funded by the N. J. Historic Trust and the Township of Mine Hill and coordinated through FHS of MH volunteer efforts. The museum is maintained and operated by volunteers of the Ferromonte Historical Society of Mine Hill, Inc. with the help of donations for improvements and archives.