Frederick DeBary, a wine importer for Mumms Champaign, built DeBary Hall in 1871 as his hunting retreat along the St. John’s River in central Florida. The area offered various leisure activities such as swimming in the local springs, fishing, and hunting quail, deer, and alligator. DeBary turned his leisure site into a profitable enterprise when he planted over 10,000 acres (40 km2) of citrus trees and began a steamboat company for trade up the St. John’s River to Jacksonville. The DeBary’s used the hall as their family winter retreat until 1941, when the last American DeBary died suddenly without an heir.

The area attracted many guests, and those that stayed at DeBary Hall required a personal invitation. Several additions and renovations were made to the house to accommodate the numerous guests. The additions included a second dining room, a wrap-around porch, two extra bathrooms, and three extra guest bedrooms. The Florida springs, hunting, and warm climate appealed to people across the nation and internationally. Guests to Debary Hall may have included Presidents Grant and Cleveland, European Royalty, and General William Tecumseh Sherman.

The architectural features of DeBary Hall are as interesting as its purpose as a leisurely retreat for the rich and famous. Built in the South during Reconstruction, DeBary Hall features several advanced attributes atypical of Southern homes during this meager time period. The 8,000 sq ft (740 m2) hunting lodge included an elevator for guests’ luggage, running water through a 500 gallon tank in the ceiling, wall-fed electricity made onsite by carbonate gas, a wired call system throughout the entire house, and a lighting protection system that covered the roof of this amazingly advanced home. The site also included a water tower and Florida’s first spring-fed swimming pool, which used a pump to fill and drain the pool each day. These unique features kept the residents self-sufficient at the mostly remote estate. The unique architectural features of the home serve as the main significance for the National Register of Historic Places designation.

Samuel Frederick deBary was born January 12, 1815 at Frankfurt-am-Main in Germany. As a young man, Frederick befriended G. H. Mumm whose family produced brands of champagne in Rheims. Mumms proposed that deBary go to New York and introduce the family's champagne to America. At 25, deBary sailed to New York in 1840 to introduce Mumm's Champagne to the new wealthy class of merchants, manufacturers, financiers and professional men profiting from New York's growing port.

Once in New York, deBary organized an importing firm, Frederick deBary Company, strictly for Mumm's Champagne. Because luxuary items were not yet prodominately produced in America, deBary found much success. In 1844, deBary returned to Europe and married Julie Scherpenhauser. The couple permantely moved to New York and had two children, Adolphe and Eugenie. Eugenie later married a German and returned to Europe. Her children created the only descendants of Frederick deBary, where the family is now again solely European.

Frederick DeBary's wife Julie died in 1868. After her death, the widower ventured on a steamboat ride down the St. John's River in Florida. The quiet natural setting appealed to deBary. In January 1871, Frederick deBary bought three parcels of land from Oliver and Amanda Arnett. The property abutted Lake Monroe with a grove of live oaks and green pines.. The large home soon became the Winter retreat of deBary and his relatives and friends. Hunting parties left the house very early in the morning with breakfast for the hunters served at four-thirty in the morning. deBary arrived in Florida each year at the end of December or early January. He typically came with a crowd of guests. DeBary Hall served as an active hunting and fishing preserve during the mild Florida winters.

As an always eager Entrepreneur, Frederick DeBary turned his winter retreat into a profitable venture. He amassed over 10,000 acres (40 km2) and planted orange groves. He built a packing house beside the lake pier and was one of the first citrus growers to sort oranges by size by rolling them down an inclined trough with variously sized holes. deBary also joined the profitable steamboat trade developing the DeBary Merchants Line. The steamboats ran from Jacksonville to Enterprise along the St. John's River. Until 1889, most of the steamers along the St. John's would be deBary boats.

Frederick deBary died on December 23, 1898. His citrus trees had been decimated by hard freezes and the steamboat industry was gradually being taken over by the faster railroad industry. His son, Adolphe and daughter, Eugenie inherited DeBary Hall and the other five estates deBary accumalated through the years. DeBary Hall is thought to be the smallest of all six homes owned by Frederick deBary. Eugenie moved to Germany with her husband Baron Hugo Von Mauch before her ninetieth birthday. Adolphe deBary was fifty-three years old at the time of his father's death and ascended to his father's place in the importing firm and the DeBary Merchant Line. Adolphe also inherited his father's love for horses and hunting. Adolphe kept no less than six horses in the carriage house . He also kept a collection of vehicles including a brougham, a surrey, a phaeton, a brake cart, and pony carts for children. Adolphe DeBary outlived all four of his children. Upon his death in 1928, DeBary Hall passed to his grandchildren Leonie deBary Lyon and Adolphe deBary Lyon.

Leonie and Adolphe were minors when their grandfather died and the deBary estate was placed in a trust for them guarded by their father Cecil Lyon. Leonie and Adolphe became the last American deBary heirs as both died early. Adolphe deBary Lyon graduated in 1935 from Harvard College. On September 19, 1937 Adolphe went to a party with a group of friends. As the party left, a young woman began to cross a street and did not notice a car driving towards her. Adolphe saw it and rushed in front of the car pushing the young woman out of the way and was struck. He died at twenty-three years old. His sister Leonie became the sole owner of DeBary Hall with her husband, Benjamin Brewster, a childhood friend. Leonie made more renovations to the family home than any previous owner including putting in a tennis court, new flooring, and a larger bathroom in the Master Suite. The biggest change however was transportation to DeBary Hall. Leonie and her husband were flight enthuasists and constructed a runway and an airplane hanger on the property.

On May 9, 1941, Leonie and Benjamin planned to fly from Long Island to Philadelphia. The weather conditions were not suitable for flight but the couple insisted and did not heed to the warnings. In the blinding rain the plane crashed into the side of a mountain killing the young couple instantly. Leonie was thirty-one and had no children.