We purchased a home in October of 2012.

My husband said a lady stopped by and was taking pictures of the house and said it was a sears and roebuck home.

She showed him the layout and told him which house it was. We were in the middle of remodeling and he has lost the card she left him. I was curious if it was you?

We live in Springfield, Oio.

We are interested in getting some information from you on where to find out which house we have for sure and we would like to restore as close as possible to original. Can you contact me? I’ve done some research and the closest I can get is The Winona, The Crafton, The Starlight and one that says #507.

The house has had an addition added to the back end but resembles these very closely. Thank you for anything you can help me with.

It would also be an honor to allow you to have before and after pictures for your site.

Thanks so much!

Rebecca

Hi Rebecca. I was the one who stopped by to see your house.

I will contact you via email and would be glad to answer any questions you might have.

My boyfriend and I recently bought his family home. His grandfather built it in 1923 and it is a Sears home.

I would love to know which model it is. The layout is similar to the Fullerton but the front windows are a little different.

It is in Plymouth Meeting, PA. I have seen people taking pictures of it before but I have not seen it posted anywhere being ID’ed as a specific model.

If anyone knows the Plymouth Meeting area and what house model it could be, please contact me. I will send pictures and hopefully you can help.

We would love to hang a copy of the original ad/blue prints in our home.

Thanks
Tanya

I live in a house that was built in 1926. I was told that it is a Sears Home.

I have been looking at tons of floor plans but I haven’t found the exact floor plan yet. I have found other homes floor plans though, like my neighbor’s home, which I think is the Verona. I live in McHenry IL and I was wondering if there was anyway that you would be able to help me find which one my house is.

It is very similar to the Westley, but there are some differences such as there is not any sort of landing in the front top window, and there is no fireplace, all of the bedrooms have walk-in closets (3 bedrooms upstairs), and there is also a bathroom upstairs.

I also found modern home No. 144 which is also very similar, but still not the same. So any help would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Hi there! I came across your website from a lady I met at the mall. She told me about the many Sears homes we have in Staunton, VA.

I am now on a mission to see for myself. Thank you so much for your great website!

If you need any more pics let me know.

I live in Sanford, FL and browsing your website is like driving around our town.

I swear that at least 50% of the homes in our little area (the historic district and surrounds) are catalog homes.

You should check us out on Google Earth. Our area is called “Sanford Heights” and was platted in about 1910 with homes being built mostly in the early 20s.

This is an excellent book with great graphics of original literature.

Hi, My cousin is married to Bill Sovereign of the Aladdin Company.

His grandfather started it. Anyway, they still live in Bay City MI and may have information about the company. If you’re interested, contact me.

Regards, Patty

Hi. I’m wondering if you have any photos of the stairs and the toilet/coat closet doors from a nine-room Lexington. Thanks!

We live in a Sears house. We put a second story on it. 172 Packard Avenue, Wyckoff NJ 07481.

1935 Sears Roebuck beach house flooded during hurricane Sandy needs someone to remove and restore it. Original interior doors and hardware, hardwood floors and outside cedar shake siding (amazing!)

Toms River, NJ

I own a Sears home, #167 the Maytown, in Acton, Massachusetts. which I will be selling this spring.

This home has always had a wonderful “feel” to it, and is in a great friendly neighborhood, and is 2 minutes walking distance to the MBTA train to Boston. I am selling as is for $380,000.

Anyone interested?

Greetings from Charleston, SC! I’ve been researching some houses in my neighborhood, and there is a very possible contender for the Roanoke by Sears.

The house was built in 1920 (one of the two years the Roanoke was offered) and it is a dead-on version of the house as pictured in the catalog (except a mirror image). The window sizes and arrangements is exact.

The size of all of the interior rooms and stairs and closets is precise. The telltale two-pronged fork style roof rafters are the same. The sloped base of the front porch masonry is the same (which is otherwise unheard of in Charleston and is nothing a local build would have ever done).

HOWEVER, the owner tells me that there are NO markings on the framing in his attic at all. I can’t believe that a Sears house would have NO markings since that was the whole POINT of a Sears house.

But, I am even more suspicious that this is NOT a Roanoke. I’d love to email a photo. Is it possible that some Sears houses had no markings on the timbers?

Kevin,

If there are no markings, it’s unlikely that it’s a Sears kit house. However, they aren’t always easy to find. In my house, almost all of the markings I’ve found have been on the joists in the basement.

In many cases, they get hidden away due to the location on the lumber that they were marked. Alternatively, there are some houses that were built based on Sears plans but not from materials supplied by Sears.

I know of a house in Ann Arbor, Michigan that was built following the plans for a Sears Vallonia. Does the house you found have the distinctive brackets too?

Andrew

Hi Rose,

I am researching a Sears Kit House “The Maplewood”. This house was built (finished) in 1941.

It was built w/o the fireplace and the front entrance vestibule is reversed with a front closet added instead to the right of the entrance.

Where is the best place to look for information on this style and the options that were offered.

Thank you for any reply, I appreciate your dedication.

David

@Andrew Mutch

Thanks Andrew.

I’ve spent the last few days doing more research on the house, and the case has become even more mysterious.

In May 1915, the local newspaper noted that a building permit had been pulled for the construction of a house on Lot 22 of the neighborhood (which is the house’s lot).

At first, I wondered if perhaps those plans fell through and nothing was actually built, but today I check the old tax records, and the assessment of the lot jumped markedly between 1915 and 1916, reflecting the construction in 1915. And, the house had residents listed in the city directories during the late 1910s.

All of that confirms that the house was built in 1915.

BUT, of course, the Roanoke was not available until 1920, I think. So now I’m wondering how that could possibly be.

The exterior of the house is a dead-on Roanoke as shown in the catalog of 1920: the unique rafter tails, the slanted column bases, the eave supports, the basement window location, the dimensions of every room, the location of every door and window both inside and out, the ceiling height, etc.

Normally I would chalk the house up as a mere copy of a Sears house perhaps, where someone maybe got a set of the plans and just hired someone local to build one. But, that would account only for houses that looked like Sears houses that FOLLOWED the publication of the house in the catalogs. This one was standing BEFORE the first Roanoke popped up, if the info I have seen on-line is correct.

It is a mystery! I’m going to ask my neighbor if I can crawl around his house and look myself. His plumbing fixtures were replaced by a previous owner, but I’m hopeful that some of the door hardware might remain.

Any thoughts on this mystery would be quite welcome! The new owner has done a marvelous job restoring the house (removing vinyl siding, etc.), and I am hopeful he will apply for a local preservation award. It would be nice to have the exact history of the house ironed out.

How does one contact you about the possibility of doing a presentation on Sears homes at our local historical society?

I recently purchased a small home in Wyandotte MI. I had my suspicions that it was a kit home at the time of purchase.

I have been trying to pin down what the home is. I am unsure if it is a Sears Dover, or an Aladdin Stratford.

Is there a good way to tell the difference? From my research, it seems like there are a lot of kit homes in the subdivision including several that look like they might be Aladdin Plymouths. If there is a way to post a picture? If so I can put one up.

@Gus
Gus, if you can you post the address, one of the followers here will definitely check it out.

There’s a follower about 30 minutes or so from you that is collecting houses. I’m sure he would love to check it out!

Sears Homes: Greenville NH 03048 our town had a train depot.

There are a number of Sears homes here. They’re a New England type high pitched roof, and across from my home is a 1936 home.

Rose,

I stumbled upon your blog by accident while researching floor plans for a four square home.

My husband and I are building our dream four square in a couple years and this site has opened my eyes to the fact that our area has a lot of kit homes. I am almost certain.

Driving up along I39 between Bloomington, IL and Rockford, IL I could see homes out in the country that looked like kits.

I was wondering if you ever ventured out into Illinois farm country to check all the small towns and farming communities for kit homes?

I love architecture and old homes so if you ever need photos or are interested let me know I would be happy to venture out for you!

Sarah

I live in what I believe is a Whitehall.

I think it was built around 1918. There is a Whitehall right across from me and another sears house next to that one (not sure which style).

I live in Edison NJ on Bonnie Brook Ave. I would love to send photos.

We just bought a repossessed house and have been redoing it.

It is lovely, now.

I think it was a kit built in 1915 and there is another house exactly like this one in Lakeville, Minnesota.

We are in Richmond Minnesota.

I asked the carpenters if they thought it was a kit and they were not sure.

I can’t find a picture of this exact house but the roof and pillars resemble some of the Sears Homes.

Would love to know.

Thank you.

p weyrens@gmail.com

I’ve become very interested in figuring out if my grandmother’s home is a Sears house. It is on the northwest side of Chicago (Milwaukee and Bryn Mawr) and was apparently built in 1926.

It most closely resembles the Westwood, but there are some slight differences–no fireplace(s), no jog out in the dining room, and there are also closets on the bedrooms/a pantry/a small entryway.

The bathroom is also laid out a bit differently, but I know it was re-done around 20 years ago, and I fuzzily remember an old clawfoot tub (no shower) being there before it. If I had measurements I could see if the room dimensions fit the Westwood though, perhaps the closets and walk-in pantry were added afterward.

I also seem to vaguely remember hearing a story of a chimney falling and my father sleeping through it…maybe that was the end of the fireplace? The rooms and stairs are all exactly like the Westwood. The exterior of the house was re-done in the past 10 years.

Here’s a poorly drawn layout, as well as a Google Street View image of her house, if it’s any help. I’d love to hear any insight!

http://simplythislife.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/floorplan.jpg

http://simplythislife.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/screen-shot-2013-05-13-at-9-06-21-pm.png