The Allison Peck House in Hillsborough was originally a small structure erected in 1820. In 1870, druggist John A. Beatty acquired the building and converted it into an apothecary—the second of its kind in Hillsborough. He also added a new two-story Queen Anne Revival house on the side of the structure, which is what you see when you look at it now. 

In 1894, C. Allison Peck, son of Hopewell lawyer and member of the Provincial Legislature Charles A. Peck, arrived in Hillsborough to put his newly acquired druggist certification to use. Peck purchased Mr. Beatty’s house and drugstore and also became Beatty's son-in-law when he married Beatty's daughter, Mary. During his time in Hillsborough, Peck led an interesting and varied life.

Sometime before 1900, Mr. Peck earned his optometry license. Though he retired from drug sales in 1955 after 60 years of service, his optometry career only ended with his death in 1964. At the time, he was 92 years old and was the oldest practicing optometrist in North America, having been in the field for 67 years. Peck had an extensive life outside of medicine as well, involving himself in other scientific pursuits such as gardening, geology, and naturalism. Additionally, he and his wife, Mary, established Hillsborough's first ice cream parlour. Every Christmas, the couple created a beautiful "toyland" display on the second floor of the store, rivalling the exhibits put on by their large-scale competitors in Moncton.

There is also an intriguing anecdote related to one inconspicuous feature of the house that inspired negative rumours about Mr. Peck’s practices. These rumours revolved around the hand water pump behind the house. During much of Mr. Peck's career, prohibition laws were in place, forbidding almost all sales of liquor. However, medical liquor provided by drugstores was an exception. This situation led to a rumour among the town's gossips that Peck used the pump to dilute alcohol before selling it to earn extra profits. This resulted in the pump being nicknamed ‘the million-dollar pump’. However, there does not appear to be evidence that suggests this claim is true.

After a period of neglect in recent years, the building has been converted into a pottery shop and residence.