The house was built in 1925 for J. C. and Alcinda Ainsley on their 83-acre orchard at Hamilton and Johnson (now Bascom) Avenues. After their deaths it stayed in the family, used for occasional holidays and gatherings.
The family gave the house, its furnishings and its carriage house to the city in 1989, and they were moved downtown in 1990. The house and carriage house were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. It opens Friday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closes in January and February for its yearly renovation.