Gilmore City is a city in Humboldt and Pocahontas Counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 556 at the 2000 census. The town was originally known as Blooming Prairie but the name was changed to Gilmore City in the early 1880s. It was named for C. N. Gilmore who was the superintendent of the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad (CRI & P). The town was incorporated in 1887.