The Gilbert cottage examplifies the island's early vernacular cottages, which are characterized by cross-gabled roofs, railed wraparound porches, interior chimneys, and horizontal shiplap siding and which are similar to the Richard Thompson house in Otsego (
AE7). Turned posts and scrolled and sawed brackets with stars, circles, and S curves support the porch. The same wooden cutwork ornaments the gables and eaves. The windows are forty-eight small panes over one large pane. The cottage was built for William D. Gilbert, a Grand Rapids lumberman and banker. But his brother, Thomas Gilbert, and his wife, Mary A. Bingham Gilbert, were principal occupants. Mrs. Gilbert was the daughter of the Reverend Abel Bingham, a noted missionary among the Ojibwa at the Sault.