The Berwyn as seen in the 1928 catalog.

And here's a perfect Berwyn (in stucco) on Noon Street. Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Maytown was -- as the ad promised - a big seller.

The Maytown in Staunton overlooks Gypsy Hill Park.

The Wilmont was not a popular house (shown here in the 1920 catalog).

And yet, is this a Wilmont in Staunton? I've puzzled over this house for close to an hour, and I'm still undecided. That dormer window on the side is pretty distinctive. I'd love to see the inside of this house. That would help me figure it out once and for all!

The Wardway Cordova is another very distinctive house.

And here's one in Staunton. Yes, it's a little rough around the edges, but it's still standing! Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Sussex was offered by Gordon Van Tine (based in Davenport, Iowa). The image above is from the 1929 Gordon Van Tine catalog.

And here it is, looking picture perfect! What a fine-looking Sussex it is, too! Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

My oh my, that's a sweet match!

The Gordon Van Tine "Roberts" (shown above) was a hugely popular house.

And here's a perfect Roberts on North Augusta (Staunton). Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Aladdin Plymouth was a classic Dutch Colonial.

And here's a beautiful example of the Aladdin Plymouth.

In addition to kit homes, Staunton has a few "Plan Book" houses. Plan book homes were different from ktt homes, because with a plan book house, you purchased the blueprints and a detailed inventory that showed you precisely how much lumber you'd need to order for your house. With kit homes, the lumber was included. Plan book houses were quite common in the 1920s and 1930s. This model was "The Mayfield," (offered in a plan book titled, "Harris, McHenry and Baker").

It's hiding behind that tree, but you can still see this is a Mayfield. Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Both of Staunton's Mayfields are painted the same color.

The Genessee was another plan book house found in the Harris, McHenry and Baker planbook.

And here's a picture perfect Genessee on Straith Street in Staunton. Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Dover is one of my favorite Sears Homes. Cute, practical and easy to identify!

Sadly, I did not visit nearby communities in Staunton during my visit there in mid-February, but I found this house while I was driving via Google Maps. Only a tiny part of Weyer's Cave is mapped (with street views on Google), and this Dover is on the main drag. Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Gladstone was one of Sears "Top Ten" most popular homes (1916 catalog).

It's been added onto, and yet I'm wholly confident that this is a Gladstone in Weyer's Cave. It's within 1/4 mile of the Dover shown above. Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

In all my travels, I've never seen a Sears Rosita (from the 1919 catalog).

Linda Ramsey discovered this Sears Rosita in Deerfield, Virginia (near Staunton), and it's in original condition - a very rare find! Rositas were "Strong and Graceful" (sort of), but they were very simple and modest homes, which makes them difficult to identify and very prone to extensive and insensitive remodeling. To find this 94-year-old house in such pristine condition - and looking just like the old catalog page - is a real treat! Photo is copyright 2013 Linda Ramsey and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Sears Crescent was a very popular house for Sears (1928 catalog).

Linda Ramsey also discovered this picture-perfect Crescent in Verona (also near Staunton). And what a perfect match it is! Photo is copyright 2013 Linda Ramsey and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

And according to Aladdin literature, there's an Aladdin Stanhope in Staunton, but where?

Here's a perfect Aladdin Stanhope in Scotland Neck, NC (near Roanoke Rapids). Where is the Stanhope in Staunton? If you've seen it, please leave a comment below!

Be there or be square!

The Wardway Cordova, as seen in the 1929 catalog.

I love it that the #1 feature of this house is that it has a sink near the rear porch.

The floorplan shows that famous sink in the back...

No bathrooms on the 2nd floor, but two good-sized bedrooms. Apparently that front dormer is in the attic portion of the 2nd floor. That's an odd use of space.

The Cordova!

And here's a Cordova in Staunton. The front porch steps were removed, but you can still see one cheek! Obviously, this house is not in great shape, but it could be restored with a bit of effort. Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Close-up of the front porch steps (the former front porch steps, that is). Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

It's pretty amazing that this house still retains its original half-round gutters, but what's going on with this siding? I've never seen anything like this. Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Another Cordova in Chesapeake, VA (on Shell Road) near my home in Norfolk.

Wardway Homes were actually manufactured by another kit home company, Gordon Van Tine (based in Davenport, Iowa). Unlike Sears, Montgomery Ward did NOT have an entire division devoted to selling kit homes.

The Wardway Dresden was featured in the front pages of the 1927 Wardway catalog.

It was categorized as "An unusually nice bungalow" (1927 catalog).

Some details on this "unusually fine bungalow."

Several Wardway/GVT houses had these offset front porches, which makes identification so much easier. When I created my own field guide (from hundreds of old catalog pages), I created a section dedicated to houses with these offset porches. It was - in my mind - a very distinctive feature.

The Dresden - in all its shining splendor!

Thanks to Andrew and Wendy Mutch, I have an unusually fine photo of this unusually fine bungalow. The house is located in Pittsfield Township (Michigan). Photo is copyright 2013 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission. An aside: If only Andrew or Wendy kept a chain saw in the glove compartment (as I recommend), they could have easily remedied the pesky problem of this small tree blocking their view.

Another fine photo of this fine bungalow. Photo is copyright 2013 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

And it still has its original siding and railings! Be still my heart! Photo is copyright 2013 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Sears Crescent, as seen in the 1929 Modern Homes catalog.

"Interior Views" of the Crescent (1929).

Close-up of the Crescent's kitchen (1929).

Nice looking living room, too!

The bedrooms weren't' this big but why let details get in the way of a nice story?

The Crescent was offered with two floorplans, C33258A (shown here).

And this C3259A (the larger floorplan). Note it has THREE columns on the front porch.

Adding a couple dormers (on the front) to the optional "finished" second floor would have created a lot more space. The finished second floor was only offered with the smaller Crescent. But that does not mean that someone couldn't finish off the 2nd floor on their own!

Glen Ellyn (Illinois) has a Crescent with three dormer windows.

This dormered Crescent is in Ypsilanti. Photo is copyright 2013 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

In Ypsilanti, they like their Crescents with dormers! Photo is copyright 2013 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

A sad little Crescent waits for death in Godfrey, IL. Again, note the unique angle of the porch roof. This has also been authenticated as a Sears Home.

A picture-perfect Crescent in Raleigh. The dormers were original to the house.

Some Crescents have very steep porch roofs and some have very shallow. This Crescent in West Point has been authenticated by Rose as the real deal.

This Crescent look-a-like is in Atlanta. I suspect it is NOT a Crescent.

A Sears Crescent in Wheaton, IL.

Hubby and I found this Crescent on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Is this a Sears Crescent? It's in Elmhurst IL.

This poor Crescent in Elgin, IL has had a hurting put on it. Rebecca Hunter has authenticated this house as a Sears Crescent.

It's been remodeled, but you can still see it's a Crescent. (Elgin, Illinois)

This Crescent is also in Elgin, IL.

Elgin Illinois has the largest known collection of Sears Homes in the country. They have a lot of Sears Crescents, too!

Not surprisingly, the Chicago suburbs are full of Sears Homes. This one is in Crystal Lake.

Another beautiful Crescent. This one is in Champaign, IL.

I stalked this house for 30 solid minutes, but the young woman on the porch never did hang up the phone, so in desperation, I snapped a photo of the house, phone caller and all. This beauty is in Charlotte, NC.

A perfect Crescent in Charlotte, NC.

This Crescent also has the less-steep pitch on the porch roof, but it's most likely a Sears Crescent. Notice the medallion inside the front porch (on the wall).

This photo was taken in 2003 (and it was scanned from an old slide) and it's in Bloomington, IL.

Is this a Crescent? The pitch of the porch roof is much less than that of the traditional porch roof in other Crescents, but I'd be inclined to say it probably is a Crescent. This house is in Wood River, Illinois.

This Crescent has a dramatically raised second floor. To compensate for the extra steep pitch of the roof, the porch roof was also raised a bit. This beauty is in Alton, Illinois.

Yet another dormered Crescent is in Ypsilanti. Photo is copyright 2013 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

A beautiful and well-loved Crescent in Webster Groves, MO (near St. Louis). Again, look at the variation on the pitch of that porch roof, and yet this is an authenticated Sears Home.

Now this house has some dormers! It's in Illinois, and was discovered by Rebecca Hunter. Photo is copyright 2013 Rebecca Hunter and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Crescent was a perennial favorite and was offered from 1919 to 1933. It's shown here in the 1933 Sears Modern Homes catalog.

This photo first appeared in the 1912 Sears Modern Homes catalog. It's a great photo and you can see that - when built in 1910 or 1911, Mr. Senier's house had stained glass windows. This was an upgrade, and it's likely that the home's interior had some fancy upgrades as well.

Sharon Dunn (reporter for the Greeley Tribune) forwarded me Winfred's obit, which showed that Mr. Senier raised Shire horses, Tamworth hogs, and Airedale and Shepherd dogs. Above is a photo of Winfred and May, and two of their dogs (about 1910 or 1911).

Is this a Shire horse? Or is this just "Pumpkin" the friendly horse who helped build the house?

Now this is one thing I have never ever seen before. Years after the house was built, Mr. Senier supplied a subsequent photo of the Greeley home (with mature landscaping), and it was published in the 1919 Sears Modern Homes catalog. You can see that the vegetation has grown up a bit! And there's Winfred and May on the front porch (still).

The Sears Avondale was first offered in the 1909 Sears Modern Homes catalog. When was Mr. Senier's house built? Well, most likely it was between 1909 - 1911. I'd love to know for sure.

The Avondale was one of Sears nicer homes. It was spacious and fancy. The house in Greeley is probably one of the first Avondales built in the country.

Look at the dimensions of the living and dining rooms. It was a very spacious house.

In this colorized card, you can see the stained-glass windows on the house. There are four. Two flanking the fireplace and two on the home's front.

Another postcard shows the interior of the Sears Avondale.

Thanks to Betsy Kellums, we now have contemporary photos of Mr. Senier's Avondale. Still looks a little lonely out there in Greeley. (Photograph is copyright 2012 Betsy Kellums and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

It's still standing but needs a smidge of paint. Given the fact that's it's 100 years old, it's in remarkably good condition. (Photograph is copyright 2012 Betsy Kellums and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

If you look at the roof lines and thee porch, you can see that the house is still square and straight and true. Mr. Senier and Sears did a fine job with this house. (Photograph is copyright 2012 Betsy Kellums and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

Mr. Senier died 67 years ago, but the house that he built for his family lives on. What a remarkable testimony to the quality of Sears kit homes. (Photograph is copyright 2012 Betsy Kellums and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

Sadly, those beautiful stained-glass windows are gone. (Photograph is copyright 2012 Betsy Kellums and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

This Sears Lynnhaven in Muncie, Indiana was moved in the 1980s. This is one of my favorite photos. The Lynnhaven and the BGSU house are probably similar in size and girth.

Sometime in the 1940s, this Sears Roseberry was moved across town. This is a fairly substantial house and the move took place in a far simpler time. This house is in Alton, IL.

This Shadowlawn (Aladdin Kit Home) was moved in the 1980s when a proposed road improvement project threatened it with demolition. The Shadowlawn was a very spacious home. It now sits in Chesapeake, Virginia at Portsmouth Boulevard and Joliff Road.

The Shadowlawn measures 28' wide and 30' feet deep, not including the substantial porch.

In 2002, a Sears kit home ("The Gordon") was threatened with demolition. After an uproar from the local citizens, the house was relocated to a new site. The story made the headlines in the regional papers.

Though not "kit homes," more than 50 of these houses (shown here) were moved from Penniman, Virginia to Norfolk, Virginia, a journey of more than 40 miles, and they were moved by BARGE. And they were moved in the late 1910s. Let's see: If you can move 50 houses 40 miles 90 years ago, I suspect you could move one house a couple miles today.

OF the 50+ houses moved from Penniman to Norfolk, Virginia, several of these homes were large two-story houses (such as the house shown here). Again, it was moved in the late 1910s.

The Penniman/Norfolk houses are shown here, being floated into Norfolk.

The Popc House in Bowling Green State University is worth saving. This historically significant home should not be sent to a premature grave.

The Josephine, as shown in the 1921 catalog.

Look in the difference in price between Honor Bilt and Lighter Bilt.

This 840-square foot house was just the right size for many families in the early 1920s. And the living room has space for a piano and a bench!

Here's a Josephine in Mt. Healthy, Ohio. (Photo is copyright 2012 Donna Bakke and can not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

This little cutie - discovered and photographed by Donna Bakke - is in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo is copyright 2012 Donna Bakke and can not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

Yellow seems like an appropriate color for the happy little Josephine.

Donna found this Josephine in Mt. Healthy, OH. (Photo is copyright 2012 Donna Bakke and can not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

Another one in Cincinnati, OH. (Photo is copyright 2012 Donna Bakke and can not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

This is my favorite - and it's in stunningly original condition. (Photo is copyright 2012 Donna Bakke and can not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

Look at the details around the front porch! (Photo is copyright 2012 Donna Bakke and can not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

Close-up on the porch details.

And the house in Mt. Healthy is a perfect match! (Photo is copyright 2012 Donna Bakke and can not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

One might hope that those columns are a unique feature to help in identifying the Sears Niota, and yet sometimes, they get removed (1916 catalog).

The kitchen was so small you'd have to step out to the porch to change your mind. Lots of rooms on this first floor, and they're all pretty modest.

At least the bedrooms have closets. That's a plus.

Close-up of the Sears Niota.

And here it is, in Wood River, Illinois. Notice that those unique columns have been chopped off at the roofline and also covered in that hideous house-hiding PVC material, known as "vinyl siding." The original columns - poking through the porch ceiling as they did - were probably prone to roof leaks and all manner of maintenance problems.

Niotas were built in several places in the Midwest. It'd be fun to see pictures of these Niotas.

The Honor, as seen in the 1921 catalog.

Nice spacious floor plan and there's a half bath on the first floor!

And there's a cubby in the kitchen (pantry) for the refrigerator!

Close-up of the Sears Honor (1921).

And here it is, looking absolutely wonderful! One of the chimneys is missing, but that just means someone opted to not have the living room fireplace. I am puzzled as to why there's a plumbing vent over the dining room, though. Photo is copyright 2011 Catarina Bannier and can not be used or reproduced without written permission.

And in the basement, Catarina found the model number written on the floor joist! This is a very good way to authenticate a Sears Home. The model number was scribbled in blue grease pencil before it left the mill at Cairo, IL. The floor joists were among the first pieces of lumber that'd be placed as the home was built, so they were on top of the bundles that left the Sears mill. Here, you can see the model number "3071." Photo is copyright 2011 Catarina Bannier and can not be used or reproduced without written permission.

In addition to names, Sears Homes were also given model numbers. The "Honor" was #3071.

And the Honor still has its old "ice box" door on the back porch.

Back in the day, better-quality iceboxes had a little service door in the rear. It was called a "Service Door." This enabled the the Ice Man to put a 10-pound block of ice into the ice box without traipsing through the house. Sawdust was used in the Ice House to insulate the blocks of ice, and as the Ice Man walked up to the house, he'd brush the sawdust off the ice as he walked. Invariably, some of that sawdust ended up in the kitchen.

There was a corresponding door built into the house (shown above), that was a little bigger than the corresponding door on the ice box. This little door had another name: "The Jealous Husband's Door." Hauling those 25, 15 and 10 pound blocks of ice around all day really made a fellow fit and tan. I'm sure there were a few "Ice Men" that were real hotties! :)

Inside the house, the old ice box is still in place!

Here's the Sears Windsor, also known as the Sears Carlin (1919 catalog).

Sears Windsor in Willoughby, Ohio. Photo is copyright 2011 Pat Burton and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Sears Kilbourne, from the 1928 catalog.

Sears Kilborn, also in Willoughby Hills, Ohio. Photo is copyright 2011 Pat Burton and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Sears Americus, from the 1928 catalog.

Sears Americus in Willoughby, Ohio. Photo is copyright 2011 Pat Burton and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Sears Conway, from 1921.

Here's a darling Conway tucked behind the trees in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Photo is copyright 2011 Pat Burton and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

One of my favorites, the Dover, from 1928.

And here it is in Mentor, Ohio. Still has its original batten shutters! Photo is copyright 2011 Pat Burton and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Sears Rodessa, from the 1928 catalog.

The Sears Rodessa in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Photo is copyright 2011 Pat Burton and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Sears Westly, as seen in the 1916 catalog.

Apparently, Mentor Ohio has many Sears Homes, such as this Westly. And so many of these homes have their original siding and railings. This is a real beauty. Photo is copyright 2011 Pat Burton and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Another favorite of mine, The Willard, a classic neo-tudor (1928 catalog).

Altered, but still identifiable. One of the classic features of the Willard are those three windows on the left (in this photo). This house is in Lyndhurst, Ohio. Photo is copyright 2011 Pat Burton and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Sears Barrington was also a popular house (1928 catalog).

And this sweet thing is in Willoughby. Photo is copyright 2011 Pat Burton and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Pat also found a house by Harris Brothers (a competitor of Sears). The J-181 was a very popular house for Harris Brothers.

And here's the J-181 in Hudson, Ohio. Photo is copyright 2011 Pat Burton and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.