The section on which this house stands was originally granted in 1841 to Lady Jane Franklin, the wife of Sir John Franklin, Governor of Van Dieman's Land. It was acquired by Charles Thomas Hewett in 1863. Hewett was leasing the land prior to buying it, and he built Torr House in the 1850s. The house had seven rooms and a two-roomed cellar, walls over two feet thick, and a slate roof.

Hewett was the first chairman of the Yankalilla Council, and also chairman of Myponga Council when that separated from the Yankalilla Council in 1856. He was elected to Parliament in 1862 and served for three years. In 1868 Hewett moved to Mount Barker Springs where he died in 1871.

In 1874 Torr Farm was sold to Thomas Stacey. Stacey married Betsy Campbell in 1878 and ten children were born to them at Torr House. The Stacey family have retained ownership of the house ever since.