No.30 ~ Edward Gillette House

44 North Second Avenue

Alvina and Edward Gillette of Kenesaw, Nebraska, purchased 20 acres of land from Charles Josselyn and Wallace D. Dickenson on January 22, 1894. In September of that year, they hired Henry Fletcher of Otay to build this house at a cost of $3,000. The home was built on a promontory with a commanding view of the Sweetwater Valley and surrounded by citrus orchards.

Edward P.Gillette, Jr., and his wife, Jennie, bought the house on June 16, 1904. On April 10, 1910, it was sold to Charles and Marcella Darling. Mrs. Darling lived in the house for many years and was well-known in Chula Vista, serving as the first president of the Chula Vista Woman's Club and instrumental in the efforts to build its current clubhouse (Site No. 12).

Except for the early addition of a sun porch, the house retains integrity of design and materials. One of the original "Orchard Homes" in Chula Vista, it is notable as an example of the Queen Anne Victorian style and as the home of Marcella Darling.