Hawthorn Hill was designed by brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright as a residence appropriate for receiving important guests or visitors. However, Wilbur Wright died in 1912, prior to the completion of the house. From then on, Orville oversaw the construction of the house.

Situated on a 17-acre site in Oakwood, it utilizes labor-saving devices added by Orville Wright. These include an early water softener, a special system of chain and rods that enables one to control the furnace from the rooms upstairs, and a toaster that can slice and brown bread.

The house is known to have entertained important guests like Thomas Edison, Carl Sandburg, Alexander Graham Bell, King Constantine of Greece, Admiral Richard Byrd, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

When Orville died in 1948, the National Cash Register bought the estate and turned it into a company guesthouse. In 2006, the property was donated to the Wright Family Foundation. The Wright family coordinated with Dayton History and the National Park Service to make the residence open to the public.