Lake Mills: Mansions, Murder Mysteries and Kit Homes!
Before my father died in June 2011, I had never heard of Lake Mills, Wisconsin. While I was cleaning out his place, I found a photo album full of old pictures, and in time, I learned that I had an Aunt who’d lived in a beautiful Queen Anne mansion in Lake Mills. And I also learned that (according to a Lake Mills historian) my aunt had been shot by her husband! Read more about that here.
That’s the mansion and murder part.
How many kit homes does Lake Mills have? Four! And during a quickie drive through Oconomowoc, I found five. I only found one in Watertown.
It’s an interesting amalgamation of America’s kit homes, as Lake Mills has houses from Sears, Gordon Van Tine, Montgomery Ward and Aladdin.
These mail-order homes arrived by boxcar as 12,000-piece kits, and came with a 75-page instruction book that told the novice homebuilder how all those pieces and parts went together. Sears promised that a “man of average abilities” could have the house assembled and ready for occupancy in 90 days! In fact, if you obtained a “Sears mortgage” for you Sears House, the mortgage required that the house be finished in four months.
The houses were delivered by train and placed on a siding. Typically, the purchaser had 48 hours to unload his boxcar (or there’d be financial penalties). Today, these early 20th Century catalog homes are found within 1-2 miles of railroad tracks.
And more than 90% of the people living in these historically significant homes don’t know about the unique origins of their home.
If you’re here to learn about Addie Hoyt, click here.
Thanks to Dawn Stewart and Sandra Spann for providing photos! And many thanks to Randy Otto for driving me around Lake Mills in style!
In all my travels, and all my years of surveying kit homes, I've been driven around in all kinds of cars, but this was the first time I had a chauffeur with a top hat that did Winston Churchill impressions! And it was also the first time I was driven around in a vintage car! This is a 1958 Ford Fairlane convertible HARD top. It's a lot easier to look for kit homes when your car doesn't have a roof! Lake Mills treats visiting authors in high style! :)
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To see Randy Otto as Winston, click here. Trust me, it’s a treat, and you’ll love it.
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Wardway Homes (sold by Montgomery Ward) are pretty rare. There are probably fewer than 25,000 Wardway Homes in the country, and there's one in Lake Mills!
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Montgomery Ward promised that "a man in moderate circumstances" could afford #123.
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Easy as 1-2-3 to identify! This is Montgomery Ward Home Model #123, in Lake Mills, WI. Given the proximity to Chicago (about two hours south), it's not surprising to find Wardway Homes here. (Photograph is copyright 2011 Dawn Stewart and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)
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Gordon Van Tine also sold kit homes through mail-order catalogs.
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And here's Gordon Van Tine Model #705, as seen in the 1921 GVT catalog.
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The Lake Mills GVT #705 is a beautiful house in wonderful condition and a spot-on match to the original catalog picture! Look at the windows on the side, and how they're just the same in both the Lake Mills house and the vintage catalog picture. (Photograph is copyright 2011 Dawn Stewart and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)
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Comparison of the two images. Sweet, aren't they?
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There's only one Sears House in Lake Mills, the Newbury (1936 catalog).
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It's about 1250 square feet, but it has a good floor plan.
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Due to landscaping, it was tough to get a good photo, but you can see it's a Sears Newbury. That bellcast (swooping) roof is easy to spot. Sears kit homes came with 12,000 pieces and all framing members were pre-cut and ready to nail into place. However, masonry was not part of the kit and was obtained locally. The catalog page shows a stone chimney but this Newbury has a brick chimney. That's an inconsequential difference. (Photograph is copyright 2011 Sandra Spann and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)
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The Newbury has a very distiinctive roofline.
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Close-up of the cornice returns and roofline on the Newbury. (Photograph is copyright 2011 Sandra Spann and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)
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In addition to kit homes, Sears also offered kit garages!
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Is that a matching Sears kit garage in the backyard of the Sears Newbury? It's close (and they were offered in two-car and one-car), but I don't *think* this is a Sears garage. However, it's a very nice match, and complements the Newbury nicely. (Photograph is copyright 2011 Sandra Spann and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)
It was actually my friend Dr. Rebecca Hunter who first found (and authenticated) this Newbury in Lake Mills. To visit Dr. Hunter’s website, click here. She has done extensive research on kit homes and has published one book, and is working on a second.
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Aladdin Sheffield, as seen in the 1919 catalog.
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And to think that I found it on Mulberry Street! (In the pouring rain...)
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And in nearby Watertown, I found a Strathmore.
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What a pretty house and it's in Watertown, Wisconsin! And it's got an inset dormer window, just like its close cousin, the Sears Willard. But wait, there's no "S" on the chimney - it can't be a Sears House! ;) You wouldn't believe how many emails I get from people who REALLY believe that the "S" on the chimney was a "sign" that it was a Sears House. Not true, not true!
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The Sears Mitchell was a very popular house. THis image is from the 1936 catalog.
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Such a fine-looking Mitchell! This was is in Oconomowoc, WI.
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And there's this, too. Wisconsin must be one of the most beautiful states in the country. Right up there with Virginia!
To see the rest of the kit homes I found in Oconomowoc, click here.
To learn about Addie Hoyt, click here.
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I love the side by side photos. Would like to see you do that more often. Love the Wardway!
I’m still baffled with the whole kit home phenomenon! These are amazing homes with such distinct architecture! My only other question would be tied to Addie, the home that my husband and I live in is titled the Hoyt and Seeber second addition. I would love to know if this had any ties to Addie. I have no clue as to where to start, but it is quite interesting.
I live in Waterloo, and all of the old timers here call our house my its original name. That sure does bring about all sorts of questions.
I agree with the side by side photos! Please do more of those!
Samantha, that’s a great question about the “Hoyt” addition. I wish I knew the answer!
The Sheffield on Mulberry is sporting the new front door installed by my husband. He spotted the house and recognized it right away.