Gillmore, E. P. and Clara, House
Also known as: J.H. and Bessie Halliday House
Why it's listed
Built in 1893 at 40 Mill Street in Point Arena, this two-story house shows the Second Empire style in a small California coastal town. Its mansard roof is cut by three evenly spaced double-hung dormer windows, each sheltered by a small bracketed shed roof. Wide horizontal board siding covers the walls, and paired windows flank a paneled front door with a transom and a hipped portico. A small one-story addition sits on the east side. The house was listed for its architecture. It is one of the few Point Arena houses deliberately designed in a recognized style, and of the several mansard-roofed houses once built in town, it is the only one that remains substantially unaltered. Its original owners, E. P. and Clara Gillmore, were prominent locally; he ran a general merchandise store and livery stable and served a term as county supervisor. In 1906 the house passed to their daughter Bessie and her husband J. H. Halliday, who lived there until the early 1940s.
Significance in brief: The house is one of the few in Point Arena deliberately designed in an architectural style. It has the key Second Empire feature, a mansard roof with dormers, plus classical detailing. It is the only mansard-roofed house in town that remains substantially unaltered, and it was tied to prominent local citizens.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 90001355, listed September 13, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 40 Mill St., Point Arena |
|---|---|
| County | Mendocino County |
| Listed | September 13, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90001355 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1893 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian: Second Empire |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed current use is single-family residential; the only noted changes are possible alterations to the portico and a small one-story addition on the east side. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 38.91768, -123.69154 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 90001355.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q56269212
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.