The cottage was part of the a family compound. Don Francisco Moreno had twelve children and when daughter, Pearl (1859-1958) planned to marry Octavius H. Smith (1850-1928), an adjacent honeymoon cottage was built in 1870. The shotgun home was laid out with two rooms plus an enclosed back porch, a few feet northeast of the home place. There was no dining room or kitchen because the couple ate their meals in the big house next door. The old Spaniard, who had been around since Washington's time, lived long enough to see a grandchild born in the cottage, F. Rust Smith (1882-1965). Later, another daughter, Corrine Fennel (1853-1942) owned and lived in the cottage, and her daughter-in-law, Leota Acosta (1893-1965) after her.