There were several dwellings built in the area of 11th street and Amoretti Avenue. These were low cost dwellings used by the impoverished, resulting in the area bring referred to as Poverty Flats.

This one-room house was built in 1918. In the 1930s Mary Ellen Hemming owned this plain pine wood frame house at 11th and Amoretti. It was listed on the official plat as a "Cottage".

The house is typical of the Spartan life of those who lived through the Depression years. Bare necessities were the norm, although neighbors always helped each other, so very few suffered hunger or endured hardship alone.

Mrs. Hemming was an eccentric recluse and according to old timers spoke cockney English. She read palms and told fortunes (many surprisingly accurate).

The cottage was donated by the heirs of Tom and Kate Sanford, with moving costs donated by the Glade Edwards Foundation.