A gable-topped polygonal bay and small porch add charm to this brick hip-roofed cottage. Built in 1912, it was home to English (undoubtedly Cornish) miner Edward Dower and his wife Clara in the 1910s. The Gilmore family occupied the house by 1923, and members of the family continued to live here until 1992. A miner and then a janitor at the Hennessy building, Martin Gilmore emigrated from Ireland in 1891. He and his wife, Mary, also from Ireland, raised seven children in this house. A religious and close-knit family (five of the Gilmores’ adult children shared their home in 1940), the Gilmores were also clearly passionate about education. Most of the Gilmore children attended college; some received advanced degrees. In 1940, daughters Gertrude, Florence, and Marjorie were teachers, and daughter Dorothy worked as a laboratory technician. Their sons were also successful: Martin Jr. became a doctor; Emmett served as an officer in the Marine Corps; and Edward, ordained a Catholic priest in 1931, was elevated to monsignor in 1958.
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