Coke Emory Dilworth was born May 13, 1874, in Gonzales, the son of G.N. Dilworth and Martha Ellen Huff Dilworth, both natives of Georgia. On March 25, 1896, Coke married Leonora Kokernot, born July 16, 1877, the daughter of L.M. and Hulda Kokernot. Coke and his brother, R.S. Dilworth, were very successful bankers.
The lots where the house stands were once owned by G.W. Littlefield who built a home on them about 1885. Littlefield sold the property to H.L. Kokernot in 1892 and Coke bought the lots from Kokernot in 1897. The Littlefield house was sold and moved to 510 St. Michael Street in 1911.
Dilworth employed noted architect, J. Riely Gordon, to design this Greek Revival style home and it was completed in 1912. The two-story house features a full length ell-shaped porch and a second story balcony. The entrance is a round portico with fluted Ionic columns matching those along the porch. The lower windows are arched, with arched shutters, and the floors are marble inlaid terrazzo and parquet. The house was constructed of tan brick and has a red-tile roof. The grounds featured a carriage house, terrace and a pond with a carved Italian stone fountain. The Greek Revival architecture is reminiscent of river road homes in Louisana.
Coke and Leonora sold the house in 1937 and moved to Stockdale, Texas. They later moved to San Antonio. Coke died November 11, 1950, and Leonora died November 23, 1956. They are buried in the Gonzales I.O.O.F. Cemetery.
The house was purchased by the Gonzales Warm Springs Foundation for Crippled Children in 1951 and served as apartments for the doctors and nursing staff. They made major interior modifications to the house, adding bathrooms and kitchen facilities to accommodate the hospital staff. In 1959 it was purchased by Ross Boothe and much of the house was restored to its original state. It remained in the Boothe family until 1998. The new owners are further restoring the home.
