So, I'll just post a nice selection here. Once delivered, many of these houses were assembled by the new homeowner, relatives, friends and neighbors, in a fashion similar to the traditional barn-raisings of farming families. Its not like nowadays where you move, wait for your stuff to arrive, and if youre a work-at-home like me, youre pretty much unable to work while you wait for a technician to ensure you have Internet access. easier. Sometimes the legal description is nice and straightforward, like, "lot 15, block C, Tanglewood Estates, in the town of Dunham". So this blog has been radio silent for a while now! of "Where are the Sears Houses?" national database of sears homescalgary police organizational chart. Due to reviews by homeowners then and now, it would appear that Sears Modern Homes are just as appreciated now as they were then. While these features werent in every single Sears home, they still set the stage for home builders to realize what people wanted in their new digs because of how much their quality of life was improved. Harbst said many of the original features in her home are intact and the exterior remains mostly unchanged. I think that we had only a handful of houses already on the list a few. [18] National and regional competitors in the catalog and kit home market included Aladdin, Bennett, Gordon-Van Tine, Harris Brothers, Lewis, Pacific Ready Cut Homes, Sterling and Montgomery Ward (Wardway) Homes. Simple theme. In 1916, Sears began shipping pre-cut lumber in its mail-order kit homes that contained stamped numbers used to match pieces during construction. The group has identified 2,700 Sears homes in Ohio and 2,300 in Illinois. *Sears Americus - Temple, PA*It's been about 3 months since the last update 118 In Columbia, Where are the Sears Houses - February 2023 Edition, The Strange Case of the Wandering Bungalow, DC House Cat Chiming In - Historic Mail-Order Homes, Same Name, Different House Part 2 - From Aurora to the Elmwood, 1926 Sears Special Supplement from AntiqueHome.org. The two-story schoolhouse was priced at $11,500 and its design included six classrooms, a library, an auditorium, and a superintendent's office. It looks almost like a Sears, And, finally, we have this pretty rare model, the Sears. Tucker/Crossroads Designs may have been modified but generally should match in layout and dimensions. Because these homes were constructed using pre-cut lumber and plans provided by Sears, these homes can be considered to be "Sears Modern Homes". catalogs for all central and satellite halos down to 10^06 MSun. It is unknown whether any were purchased or built. [15] 1908 was the only year the schoolhouse appeared in the catalog. I have seen articles throughout the years about Sears homes in the Pittsburgh area, she wrote after reading the Trib story. It mightve been easier to get a job or start a business off the bat compared to the hoops and bureaucracy we have for both these days, but there was no U-Haul or Pods to make moving easier. Ruth's Beauty Parlor: A Sears No. The houses, comprising eight models, were all built in a 12-block area known as the Standard Addition. Here is one at 17 Hill Street, Villa Park. Chabot focuses her research on scouring mortgages and deed records, old newspaper articles and other sources to identify kit homes sold by Sears. If those were the top sellers, no model could catch the Argyle at that rate. But, as of this date in 2021, here are leading areas in the U.S. with high numbers of Sears houses. Thanks for giving me a new appreciation for the Argyle! We loosely refer to ourselves by the name. Sears Modern Homes are something we totally need to bring back from the past for this. Sears would be listed as the architect, and because they often gave out mortgages, you can find out if the previous owner(s) had a Sears mortgage or not. Related: Floating Chairs and Texas McMansions | McMansions vs Really Big Houses | Strange Mansion in Carmel, Indiana | What is a Mansion. How do we know another house didn't outsell the Argyle after 1931? Some models were offered with variations, the most common of those being expanded floor plans and additional finished living spaces. True to the companys roots in selling to rural Midwesterners, they even had a catalog for farmhouses, barns, and other barn buildings. I see you posted about the origins of Hollywood three years ago! However, many houses described as Sears Homes are not true Sears Homes, being either the product of another kit home manufacturer or not a kit home at all. She said she didnt know the house was built from a kit ordered from a catalog until after she bought it. Search. For more information on who we are, and what we do, visit our website: All photos in these blog posts are the property of the author of this blog- link to this blog. Our list, in fact, began with 345 Sears houses that Mrs. Lask had found in the Cincinnati area, as part of a Masters Degree thesis project at the University of Cincinnati. And, to top it off, Gordon-Van Tine has a model almost the same. Many of the smaller models are regularly torn down. Our goal is always to authenticate these houses through mortgage and deed research, or other primary sources, but, when that is not possible, we apply a careful, team approach to analyzing each house that goes on our national list. Sears began offering financing plans around 1912. The Sears Tower is nearly finished. If any of you have ever been interested in coming to see me do a kit home 1232 click. The larger Victorian-style houses that were already there and scant in number were out of reach for working class first-time home buyers. I know of several other models in McCandless. Our national database of Sears houses in the U.S., is constantly growing, with over 13,600 homes currently listed. It was built in 1917. Chuck Holtzen has joined up with Lara to do research in Illinois, and has been helpful in adding a number of authenticated houses to our list. Between 1908 and 1940, Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold nearly 75,000 kit homes through its Modern Homes program, which featured 447 styles of houses, ranging from large multistory dwellings to tiny summer cottages with an optional outhouse. Some of the most popular models were:[12], The largest and one of the most expensive Sears models was the Magnolia. Ephemera can help identify a house as a Sears Home. Cities that have records of building permits may list Sears, Roebuck as the original architect. Early on, we were joined by Sarah Mullane, who lives in North Tonawanda, New York. 159, except for a closed pediment up in the front and side gable. Fabricated houses sold primarily through mail order, Column detail from a Sears Vallonia house, pictured alongside its appearance in the catalog, Modern interpretations of Sears Modern Homes, "Did Sears, Roebuck Sell Homes in Canada? of "Where are the Sears Houses?" There are two examples of this model, in La Porte. While the bathroom and kitchen of this 1920 Sears mail-order house in Munhall called The Crescent have been updated, most of the homes original features remain unchanged, said owner Molly Harbst, who learned it was among the first homes built in her Homestead Park neighborhood. Without authentication, however, we can't be 100% certain that this house was ordered from Sears, as numerous kit and non-kit companies offered a very similar model, and these kinds of stories that are passed down over time, often turn out to be mistaken (with the house actually being a model from a different kit company, or simply resembling a model offered by Sears). muhammad ali i am the greatest speech transcript . New York state is 4th, with 1,679 houses found. Los Angeles Modern Stilt Home Featured in Heat (Listed for $1.599 Million), International House Flipper Alex Camacho Makes $80k Profit on One House Flip, Bugsy Siegel Murder Mansion in Beverly Hills Flats (Listed for $17 Million), Zsa Zsa Gabors Pink Palm Springs Palace (Listed for $3.8 Million), 35 Kitchen Breakfast Bars The Latest In Casual Kitchen Dining. TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox. Sears offered 370 models over the 32 years it sold houses by catalog. Lara and Cindy were joined by Andrew Mutch, who is based out of his own Sears house, in Novi, Michigan. Shipped by railroad boxcar, and then usually trucked to a home site, the average Sears Modern Home kit had about 25 tons of materials, with more than 30,000 parts. Once again true to the companys roots, youre more apt to find Sears catalog homes still standing in former factory towns of the Midwest. I don't feel comfortable making that assumption. According to a review written by Mary Ann O'Boyle of Takoma Park, Maryland, her Sears home feels "unabashedly American, the kind of house you see in movies about the good old days" and "allows me to connect with the past". We just can't say, because we can't access those records. We cannot be absolutely certain, but the numbers do not support it. Sears Modern Homes are something we totally need to bring back from the past for this. [7] Early mortgage loans were typically for 5 to 15 years at 6% to 7% interest. The new owner was a Sears House fan - even produced a short doc film about the house and how she updated it. Sears is estimated to have sold about 70,000 of their home building kits from 1908-1940 and it's currently estimated that about 70% of the original Sears homes built from kits are still standing today. I think that one of our researchers, Lara Solonickne. Some of the models are easier to identify visually and their counts may be disproportionately high. If any of you have ever been interested in coming to see me do a kit home It's likely that other Sears models can be traced to him as well. Asbury Methodist Village Communications Dept. Balloon framing systems rely only on nails to make connections between joints, whereas previous methods used heavier members and pegs. ", "How to Properly Identify a Sears Magnolia", "Have You Seen This Kit Schoolhouse? Our national database of Sears houses in the U.S. has over 13,600 homes on it, and, after Ohio and Illinois, Pennsylvania is #3 in U.S. states with, at today's count, 1,963 Sears homes found. We also find street names that have changed (without our knowing that), or, especially for folks who bought their house in 1930-32 (the waning years of the mortgage program), we find that folks lost their homes during the depression, so we can't pin them down using the 1930 or 1940 census records. No built examples have been found of some of the least popular models. Most of us have a small collection of physical catalogs, or PDF catalogs, but we rely heavily on resources provided, especially, by our friend at AntiqueHome.org, and Daily Bungalow. within a fe A very special, authenticated Aladdin home just hit the market in Takoma The wild pursuit began with an a Not all Sears houses were mortgaged through Sears, but many were, so it's a great help for us to be able to access those records. There were about 132 million people by the time Sears stopped selling Sears Modern Homes kits in 1940. I learn all kinds of interesting stuff here; thanks! Spatial information is available through GIS downloads or can be viewed in the BIOS Viewer. This Sears mail-order kit home in McCandless is owned by Normajean Moser. 217 (early Starlight), Sears Modern Home No, 126, on the left, at 808 W 11th Street, La Porte, Indiana, On the right, Sears Modern Home No. She said she also didnt know it was a mail-order house when she bought it 14 years ago. Knowing the limitations of a newspaper article, I know that he will only be able to show one or two house photos, so I thought that I would highlight a few that we have found, through our research. In real life, with its two full stories, the whole house is a much taller house than the Rossville/171 or the Greenview/115. Images are available [16], There was no single architect for the Sears designs. Because the various kit home companies often copied plan elements or designs from each other, there are a number of catalog and kit models from different manufacturers that look similar or identical to models offered by Sears. 168 / Matoka: I am really (really!) Looks like Yoho probably bought plan #466 from H. L. Wilson, the actual designer. The last Sears Modern Homes catalog was issued in 1940. If home is where the heart is, then those living in houses built from Sears mail-order kits may have fallen head-over-heels. Im looking at this cute little Cape Cod that was $886 in 1940 dollars, about $16,000 today. Browse the list below to see if there are Modern Homes in your city or state, or to find someone who owns the same model as you. This is the case for the southern New Jersey counties that are suburbs of Philadelphia. Among those chiming in about the article was Judith Chabot of St. Louis, Mo., who runs SearsHouseSeekers.com, which serves as a depository for information gathered by Sears home enthusiasts across the country. Other models only appeared for one year. Stevenson, Katherine Cole, and Jandl, H. Ward, (1995), Davis, Michael W.R. and Schweitzer, Robert (1990), This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 21:18. Rockstar, Consistent Trees, and Baryon Mass data from the Generation 3 and Generation 6 VELA Simulations. Honor Bilt homes used the best quality materials that Sears could source and they were designed with what was then state of the art heating, plumbing, and electricity. Sears Houses in Elgin, Illinois (Rebecca L. Hunter), BOOK:Houses By Mail -- published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, BOOK: History and Field Guide to Wardway Homes, Rosemary Thornton's Sears Modern Homes website (use to search for models), Beatrice Lask Thesis: Summary list (Cincinnati Sears Homes). Sears is estimated to have sold about 70,000 of their home building kits from 1908-1940 and its currently estimated that about 70% of the original Sears homes built from kits are still standing today. Lara was joined by researcher Cindy Catanzaro, who researches especially in Ohio, and writes the blog. Carrying on with Same Name, Different House topic we find that some of the Many of the homes original features remain intact. Your comment will appear after it has been previewed and approved by the blog author. 159 examples that have a closed pediment in the gable (and a porch style difference). Sears Houses in Elgin, Illinois (Rebecca L. Hunter), BOOK:Houses By Mail -- published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, BOOK: History and Field Guide to Wardway Homes, Rosemary Thornton's Sears Modern Homes website (use to search for models), Beatrice Lask Thesis: Summary list (Cincinnati Sears Homes). Sears houses can be identified or authenticated using the following methods. Damn, it was like. Because lets get real: affordable ranchers were only for CERTAIN veterans, Government spending was dedicated to housing in an unprecedented manner as the mantra was driven home that the ideal was a nuclear family in a 3-bedroom. 06/16/2022 . Moreover, it was just more feasible to plunk down a house somewhere because there just werent as many homes on account of a smaller population. If your house was built between 1908-1940, theres a chance it might be an original Sears house. Kushel is credited with suggesting to Richard Sears that the company assemble kits of all the parts needed and sell entire houses through mail order. They had 447 different styles that ranged from simple and rustic to utterly decadent. By Posted on Mar 10, 2021. national database of sears homes. A high-speed chase involving an armed carjacking suspect ended in Los Angeles Friday afternoon when the suspect crashed into a police vehicle, and then into a pole. The house was in original condition and was never modified while we lived there - it was sold in 2003 or early 2004. We have a database of all the models that have been identified nationwide to date. During the Modern Homes program, large quantities of asphalt shingles became available. As some areas begin to see population booms, such as the tech triangle region of Raleigh, Durham, and Cary as more companies and tech talent make exodus from California and New York based on what I hear from taxi drivers and my university contacts in the region at games conferences every year? But Matthew has a way of pulling everything together and spitting out a coherent comparative analysis with visuals that helps us see what we hadn't noticed previously. Sadly, surviving Argyles do tend to be heavily altered there are probably lots more hiding in plain sight. Molly Harbst of Munhall sent along photos of her beautifully preserved Sears homes a 1920 model called The Crescent after reading the article. But before all this, having to get your own home built was more common instead of getting on a waitlist for a HUD-subsidized tract home or buying one secondhand from the current occupant. Documented Sears houses have been found across the United States and in a few locations in Canada. But what if you want something bigger than a tiny house, but not as gargantuan as the average American single family home? You can find catalog images for these models, in the links on the table at the end of this blog post: Also on W Johnson Road, we have new information from Nancy, who contacted me to let me know that she grew up in the Sears house shown below, a Sears. So, each house that we find through these records, represents a great deal of digging, and lots of amassed knowledge in how to attack the task because each county's records system is a little different than others.