This was a favorite. I laughed out loud when I saw the photo. The writer asked me, "I think I live in a Sears House. Can you tell me what this is?" I wanted to write back and say, "Yes, it's a Silver Maple."

This is the architectural equivalent of asking someone to identify a picture of a criminal where the bad guy is wearing a ski mask. Just doesn't work too well.

Is there a house back there? Yes there is. And it's an Aladdin Pasadena!

The Bellewood (1933). Note that the Sears Modern Homes department is now known as the "Home Construction Division." In 1934, Sears closed down their kit homes department and in 1935, they reopened it for a short time. In 1940, the whole program was shuttered once and for all.

In 1932, it was described as a "Happy combination of a well laid out floor plan with a modern attractive exterior." In 1933, it was simply "an up-to-the-minute...design." How pedestrian.

The Bellewood had a very simple floorplan, with two large closets and a tiny bathroom.

The Bellewood, as seen in the 1933 catalog.

A close-up of the house as seen in 1932.

Here's a lovely Bellewood in Hopewell, Virginia. Notice the vent on the 2nd floor has been replaced with a double-hung window. There's probably not a lot of head room on that 2nd floor.

This Bellewood (Ann Arbor, MI) is in wonderfully original condition. It still has its original windows, siding and trim. Down this wall, there should be a single window in the living room, and paired windows in the dining room, and kitchen. The living room window is paired, and the dining room windows are missing. Given that it has its original siding, it was probably built this way. There's certainly room for another set of windows down that long wall. Photo is copyright 2013 Andrew and Wendy Mutch, and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The "short side" of the Sears Bellewood in Ann Arbor. Photo is copyright 2013 Andrew and Wendy Mutch, and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Bellewood came with "batten" shutters (shown here).

The Bellewood in Ann Arbor still has its original shutters! Photo is copyright 2013 Andrew and Wendy Mutch, and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

And Lara Solinicke found this beautiful Bellewood in Des Plaines, Illinois. What a pretty house!! Again, that upstairs vent has been replaced with a double-hung window! Photo is copyright 2013 Lara Solickne and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

First, the good. The Sears Glen Falls was a beautiful Dutch Colonial and spacious, too (1928).

At 2,900 square feet, the Glen Falls was just a little smaller than the biggest Sears House of them all - The Magnolia. The Glen Falls was also the second most expensive house that Sears offered (The Magnolia being the most expensive). Notice the butler's pantry (between the dining room and the kitchen). These were unusual features for an early 1920s kit home.

Is this a Sears Glen Falls? With the paired french doors, it sure looks like s a good match, but I'd need to know the home's exterior footprint to authenticate it.

And on to the grand! This is a Sears Rockford, one of Sears finer homes. This majestic foursquare was offered only in brick. It's shown here in the 1928 catalog. I've only seen three other Rockfords and all three of them were in Virginia.

Notice the detail on the columns, and the eave brackets. Also notice the window arrangement.

And here's a picture-perfect Rockford in Charlottesville. What a grand find! Do the owners know it's a Sears Rockford? I'd love to know.

Oh my, what a lovely match!

The astute observer might notice that the dormer on the Charlottesville Rockford is just not a perfect match to the original catalog image. I've seen three Rockfords (all in Virginia) and each of these Rockford had a much smaller dormer than is depicted in the catalog's line drawing. Shown above is the Rockford in Cape Charles, Virginia.

Thanks to K. Edward Lay, I've learned that there's a Sears Ashmore in Charlottesville. This was a classic Arts and Crafts bungalow (as seen in the 1919 Sears Modern Homes catalog).

Also thanks to K. Edward Lay, I now have a photo of the Ashmore in Charlottesville! And it's the "Aristocrat of bungalows!" Photo is credit is K. Edward Lay, The Architecture of Jefferson Country, CD-Rom, 2001.

Another view of the "Aristocratic Bungalow" in Charlottesville, VA. Photo is credit is K. Edward Lay, The Architecture of Jefferson Country, CD-Rom, 2001.

Before we get to the "ugly," let's talk about the mysterious. This is a Sears Barrington, a hugely popular house for Sears (1928 catalog). Notice the cornice dormer, the front-gabled foyer and the darling little windows within that gable.

And here's where it gets mysterious. Is this a Sears Barrington in Charlottesville? It sure looks like it could be. Oooh, but wait, look at the half-round door! And the darling little window is squared, not angled (as is shown in the image above). And there's no light over the door. Hmmm. So, maybe it's not a Sears Barrington? Tough to know for sure. It's another house that bears more investigation.

Here in Virginia, I've found that the majority of our kit homes came from Aladdin Kit Homes (Bay City, MI). Aladdin was actually a bigger company than Sears, and Aladdin had a mill in Wilmington, NC. Sears sold about 70,000 kit homes in the early 20th Century, while Aladdin sold more than 75,000 houses. Shown here is an Aladdin Newcastle, which looks a lot like a Sears Barrington, except, the Newcastle does have that rounded entry door, and there's no light over the door. However, the darling little windows are still not quite right.

So is it an Aladdin Newcastle or a Sears Barrington? I don't know. I'd love to get inside the house and look at the framing members. You can learn a lot by looking at framing members.

For instance, if it has a mark like this, it's a Sears kit home. This mark, together with a 75-page instruction book, told the novice homebuilder how all those 12,000 pieces and parts went together.

If it has a mark like this, it's an Aladdin.

The Sears Westly was surely one of their most popular designs, and was proably one of their top ten best-selling models. It's a very cute house and has a good floor plan. However, sometimes bad things happen to good Westlys. Image is from 1916 Sears catalog.

Before we hit the ugly, here's a happy, happy Westly in Oakhill, West Virginia. What a fine little Westly it is. And it's in original condition, too. Not bad for a 90-year-old home.

Oh dear. Oh dear, dear, dear.

Oh my, is this really a Westly? I fear that it is. In fact, I'm 98.765% certain that it is. I've seen at least 200 Westlys and this has the right proportions (minus the not-so-sensitive remodeling).

Poor little Westly. There's so much that's wrong with this house. It's kind of an anachronism of bad remodeling practices through the decades. From the T-111 siding on the exterior to the 1980s picture windows to the fake stone facade to the mismatched lanterns on the home's front, this poor house has suffered pretty much every architectural indignity imaginable.

In addition to the kit homes, Charlottesville also has a few "Plan Book" houses. These were different from kit homes. With plan books, you'd browse the pages of the catalog and pick out a house and send off for the blueprints. A complete inventory of all building materials that you'd need came with the deal. The lumber and hardware could then be purchased locally.

Shown above is a plan book house, "The Somerset."

And Charlottesville has two of them!

The Wexford was also known as The Bridgeport (1936 catalog).

It was offered in two floorplans, and "B" had a dining room.

Floorplan A was a bit smaller, with a kitchen nook instead of a dining room.

The Wexford, as seen in the 1936 catalog.

Is this a Sears Wexford? Can't say for certain, but I'd guess that it probably is, and my guesses are usually right! :) On this Wexford, the porch is not off the living room, but off of a bedroom (it appears). Note the details around that front porch. It's a good match! I'd love to get inside at some point and check for marked lumber.

This Wexford is in Cairo, Illinois on Roebuck Road (about 1/2 mile from the site of the original Sears Mill). Years ago, this Wexford was on Sears and Roebuck Road, but when the interstate came through in the 1970s, it sliced the road into two pieces. One side was renamed Sears Road (where the old mill was located), and the other side was named Roebuck Road. On my Garmin, it still shows the two pieces of this old road as "Sears and Roebuck Road." Ah, Sears and Roebuck Road: Married by commerce, divorced by the interstate.

Lumber was numbered with specific markings to help the novice homebuilder figure out how all those pieces and parts went together (1928 catalog). The marked lumber, together with detailed blueprints and a 75-page instruction book, enabled "a man of average abilities" to build his own home. Or so Sears promised.

Sears marked their lumber with a letter and a three-digit number. Usually. The font is solid (not stenciled) and about 7/8" of an inch tall. The mark can be found near the end of the joist, and also on the butt end (typically not visible after construction).

Sometimes you have to peak around a few obstacles to find the number. Sears marks had a method. "D" was used for 2x8s, "C" was for 2x6s, and 2x4s were marked with "A" or "B."

Sometimes the marks were not entirely straight. Photo is copyright 2013 Cindy Catanzaro and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

And sometimes, they're a little smudged or fuzzy. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Here's a good example, because you can see the mark both on the butt end and also on the face of the 2x4. Plus, this photo shows how faded those numbers typically become with a little age. Photo is copyright 2010 Ersela Jordan and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Close-up of the 2x4 shown above. Photo is copyright 2010 Ersela Jordan and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Another typical example, showing how faded these marks become over time. Photo is copyright 2010 Ersela Jordan and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

And don't forget to look up! Note how it's visible on the right, but not the left. Photo is copyright 2010 Ersela Jordan and may not be used or reproduced without written permission

Where's the mark? This is under a staircase, which, by the way, is a great spot for finding marked lumber. Another great spot is the plumbing access door (behind the tub/shower faucet).

Easy to miss, isn't it? And this is assuming bright lights, good vision and that there are no rats scampering around your feet. These marks are most often seen in basements, and the number of obstacles you're going to see in basements is staggering and distracting! Most basements are dimly lit and stuffed silly with all manner of trip hazards!

An extreme close-up of the mark shown above between the two arrows. By the way, it was also very difficult to see when I took this photo, and it showed up better as a picture than it did in real life.

Ersela took this photo and I thought it was a great photo, demonstrating how the ends were stamped (and how they fade with time). Photo is copyright 2010 Ersela Jordan and may not be used or reproduced without written permission

My favorite marked lumber of all is this Vallonia staircase in Columbia, Illinois. The owners were so very proud of their Sears kit home that they purposefully turned the treads and risers wrong side out so that everyone could see that they'd built a kit home.

Sometimes, you'll be looking for a different kind of "mark." This board was nailed to the underside of the floorboards of a Sears Osborne (as seen in the basement). The Osborne's first owner and builder, H. K. Mohr, had saved a piece of wood from the original shipping crate. The house was in Sidney, Illinois but had been shipped into the train depot at Boncard, Illinois. These shipping creates, marked with the owner's name, were often saved. It's not uncommon to find that the old shipping crates were broken down and the lumber was re-used to build a coal bin or shelving. Notice this mark is stenciled, not solid (whereas the numbers are solid, not stenciled).

You should also keep your eyes peeled for marks with blue grease pencil. This says "2089" and "Rose" (how apropos). This was found in the basement of a Sears Magnolia, and the first family's name was Rose. The Magnolia was also known as Model #2089 (hence the mark above). In the dark, dank basement, this mark was nearly impossible to see. The photo above was enhanced to make that old blue grease pencil easier to see. You'll going to have look long and hard to find some of these marks.

This isn't a "mark" per se, but it's something else to be on the look out for. Shipping labels are often found on the back of millwork (baseboards, window trim, molding), and in most cases, they don't say "Sears" but have a return address of 925 Homan Avenue, Chicago. Sears was located at the corner of Homan Avenue and Arthington Street in downtown Chicago. In later years, they created a brand name of hardware and plumbing supplies known as "Homart." This was a combination of their two street names.

In later years, Sears changed they way they did their marks. Jeffrey N. Fritz send me these photos of marked lumber found in his late 1930s Sears kit home. At first, I didn't know what to think. I'd never seen marks like this in a Sears House, but based on some other research he'd shared with me, there was little doubt that this was a late 1930s Sears kit home. By the way, Jeffrey if you're reading this, please send me an email or leave a comment! I can't find your email address! :) Photo is copyright 2010 Jeffrey N. Fritz and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Close-up of the marked lumber Jeffrey found in his Sears House. Photo is copyright 2010 Jeffrey N. Fritz and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Aladdin was another kit home company and, like Sears, they sold kit homes out of a mail-order catalog. Aladdin (based in Bay City, MI) sold about 75,000 kit homes, which was *about* 5,000 more than Sears sold. Here's a piece of wood - probably off a shipping crate - found in an Aladdin house ("The Colonial") in Oklahoma. According to Rachel Shoemaker, the folks in town had assumed that this was a Sears kit home for many years. Sadly, the name "Aladdin" has largely been forgotten. To too many people, kit home = Sears home. Photo is copyright 2012 Rachel Shoemaker and may not be used or reproduced without written permission

Here's another example of marked lumber that Rachel found in that "Colonial" (model name) in Oklahoma. This one borders on being artwork! Either that, or the Aladdin Stamper that day was pretty well sloshed. Photo is copyright 2012 Rachel Shoemaker and may not be used or reproduced without written permission

Yet another example of marked lumber found in the *same* Aladdin Colonial in Oklahoma. You can also see a bit of blue grease pencil scribbled in the upper left hand corner. Photo is copyright 2012 Rachel Shoemaker and may not be used or reproduced without written permission

I found this mark on an old Aladdin Brentwood in Roanoke Rapids, NC. It was very faint, but still legible. So this represents three distinct types of lettering on Aladdin kit homes. The first one shown above is stenciled, with capital letters. The second one is solid (no breaks in the lettering) and is all caps. The example from my Brentwood is first letter capitalized, with the rest lower case, and solid (no stencil).

Cindy Catanzaro found this in an Aladdin kit home. It's all caps, and stenciled (as is shown in the first Aladdin example above). Photo is copyright 2012 Cindy Catanzaro and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

And Cindy found this mark in an Aladdin kit home (The Stratford). It's yet a fourth type of marking: Numbers separated by a dash. And here's where it gets even more confusing. I've seen identical markings in mid-1930s Sears Homes. Same format, same font, a couple numbers separated by a single dash. So for a time, apparently Sears and Aladdin used the same marks. Not to be confused with Gordon Van Tine/Wardway, which were several numbers, separated by a dash. Photo is copyright 2012 Cindy Catanzaro and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

B. Maura Townsend found this blue grease pencil mark in her Aladdin Sherman (1912). It''d be great if we could break the "code." Is it a hand-written part number? That's the most-likely answer. Photo is copyright 2013 B. Maura Townsend and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

I'm sorry to say I don't have a real-life example of a Gordon Van Tine/Wardway marked lumber, but this graphic from the 1929 catalog gives you an idea of what to look for. I've also seen just the numbers (no letter) separated by hyphens.

And this expanded view of the same image shows that Gordon Van Tine/Wardway also stamped *words* on some of the lumber.

Here's an example of blue grease pencil marks found in a Gordon Van Tine kit home in Oklahoma. Photo is copyright 2012 Rachel Shoemaker and Doug Lewis and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

This is also from a Gordon Van Tine/Montgomery Ward kit house. Again, it was from the original shipping crate that contained some of those 12,000 pieces and parts. If you find an old plank like this nailed to the old coal bin or used for a shelf, it might well be a kit home. This house was sold to Mathias Ringer of Quinter, Kansas and shipped into Beloit.

Catarina discovered this mark on The Cheltenham, made by Lewis Manufacturing (yet another kit home company). Is it a part number or a model number? Most likely, it's a model number and yet in the Lewis Homes catalog, no part numbers are listed for the Cheltenham. Photo is copyright 2012 Catarina Bannier and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

In the 1921 Sears Modern Homes catalog, Sears highlighted several communities where large numbers of their kit homes had been built. Plymouth Meeting House (very near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was one of those communities.

In addition to Plymouth Meeting House, there were also large number of (modest) Sears Homes sold in a little community called "Chester, Pennsylvania."

The accompanying text says these homes were purchased by the American Magnesia Company.

Here's the photo showcasing the homes in Plymouth Meeting House.

Close-up of some of the houses. Note, the street has not been paved yet.

The other side of the street.

According to that vintage photo, there are several Gladstones in that collection in Plymouth Meeting House. This house should be easy to spot! The Gladstone has the unique columns (with those blocks at the top) and also note that third window on the first-floor front. On the side, you'll see that funky little window upstairs. Have you seen this house?

The Marina shouldn't be hard to find in this bunch! Note the interesting window arrangement in that shed dormer. Those are two closet windows.

And the Somers is also an easy house to identify! Look at the lines on the porch roof!

In the 1927 promotional brochure, Otto Friebertshauser wrote, "All of my friends who have seen this house are in love with it." Otto even included a snapshot of his home.

Close-up of the text that appeared in the 1927 brochure.

Otto's home as seen in the 1920s.

In 1916, the "Roberts" (Otto's house) appeared on the cover.

Close-up of that pretty, pretty house.

The original catalog page showing "The Roberts" (1924).

According to this text, there's a Roberts in every state in the US.

As kit homes go, this one was unusually spacious.

A small room upstairs was devoted to space for the live-in maid! And that dressing room doesn't make much sense, as it was accessible only through the main hallway.

Ah, but here's the most interesting photo of all. This is the Roberts in Wheeling, then and now. Photo (on left) is copyright 2013 Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation and may not be used or reproduced without written permission. Photo on right was taken by Otto Freibertshauser, and it's also a dandy photo.

Otto would be so pleased to see his house today! What a breath-taking beauty and it's been lovingly and thoughtfully maintained. And perhaps best of all, the original windows are still in place. Photo is copyright 2013 Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Otto's house dressed up for Christmas! Now this belongs on the cover of a Christmas card! Photo is copyright 2012 Frank Harrar and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Here's a photo of the Sears Crescent (1928). The one in Wheeling is way up on a hill, across the street from the Dairy Queen. I found it while "driving" via Google Maps.

Mr. Friebertshauser wrote passionately about his new home there in Wheeling!

A picture of Mr. Friebertshauser's home in Wheeling.

Catalog page showing Otto's home: The Roberts

A "Roberts" in Front Royal, Virginia

Sears had only 40 "Sears Modern Homes Sales Centers" in the country and there was one in Wheeling, WV. This tells me that there are probably *many* Sears Homes in Wheeling.

Sears only placed these "Sales Centers" in cities or regions where sales were very strong.

Here's the actual photo of Otto's home in Wheeling. His description of the house gives a few clues. In the 1931 brochure, it was described as a "quarter mile from any other house."

Here's a fine-looking house on Kruger Street (for sale) and it's actually an Aladdin Shadowlawn. Aladdin was another large kit home company that sold homes through their mail-order catalog. (Photo is from a real estate site and hopefully the new-found recognition that this house is a kit home will help sell the property and the unknown photographer won't be upset with us for borrowing this photo. Despite some searching, I couldn't find a photo credit.) Thanks to Rachel Shoemaker for finding this house!

Oh my stars, it's a perfect match to the Shadowlawn as shown in the 1919 catalog!

Here's another house for sale in Wheeling. It's a Sears Fullerton.

Another real fine match!

This is an Aladdin Standard, also currently for sale and listed at a real estate site. Now that folks know it's a kit home, will they sell it more quickly? We can hope!

Be still my quivering heart, what a nice match to the photo above! (1914 Aladdin catalog).

Another house for sale in Wheeling (and since Google Maps doesn't provide street views in Wheeling, this is all we got). This is not a "kit home" but it's a "plan book" house. Plan books were a little different than kit homes. When you purchased a design from a planbook, you'd receive blueprints and a list of building materials needed to complete the house. These Plan Books were very popular in the 1920s.

Here's the house as seen in the 1929 "Home Builders" catalog.

There's a Sears Crescent high on a hill in Wheeling. It's across the street from the Dairy Queen and I found it while "driving" via Google Maps. It sure would be nice to have a photo! If you're able to take a photo for me, please leave a comment below.

The Barrington, as seen in the 1928 Sears Modern Homes catalog.

And here's a beautiful example in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Notice the bracketing for the flower boxes (2nd floor window) is still in place. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Brookwood is similar to the Barrington but they have a few minor differences. Do you see the difference between the two? The Brookwood is smaller, and has two living room windows (and the Barrington has three). For a time, I'd get these two confused, and then it dawned on me that "Brookwood" has two syllables and two windows! Barrington has three! This is from the 1933 catalog.

And here's a fine-looking Brookwood in Ann Arbor. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Sears Dover was an immensely popular house and easy to identify, thanks to its many unique features (1928).

Here's a picture-perfect Dover in Ann Arbor. You may notice it has two windows down the left side, where the catalog has three. This was a very common alteration. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Another beautiful Dover in Ann Arbor. However, this house looks really cold. The extra snow shovels on the porch are part of that "chilly look" I suppose. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Crescent was probably one of the top ten most popular designs that Sears offered (1928).

Not only does it have the original windows, but it has the original wooden storm windows too, and even the half-round gutters are true to 1928. Are these original or just high-quality replacements? Tough to know, but they sure do look good. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Rembrandt, a classic Dutch Colonial, was one of their finer homes.

Another perfect match. Note that the windows on the 2nd floor are centered over those paired windows on the first floor. This single detail can help figure out - is it a Sears Rembrandt, or just another pretty Dutch Colonial? Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Sears Puritan was a diminuitive version of the Rembrandt (1925).

Like the Rembrandt, you can study the position of the windows to figure out if it's a Puritan or something else. The 2nd floor windows on the Puritan are NOT aligned with the first floor windows. Study this single detail, and it will help you easily differentiate the Puritan from the look-alikes. As with all these houses, also pay attention the chimney placement. Remodelings come and go, but chimneys don't move. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Another hugely popular house was the Sears Westly (1919).

Pretty, pretty Westly in Ann Arbor. Still has its original railings. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Rodessa was a cute little bungalow and very popular! (1925)

And this Rodessa is in wonderfully original condition! Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Hathaway was another popular house (1928), and distinctive enough that it's easy to identify. Just look at all those clipped gables!

Anther very fine match. Sadly, this house has been hit with some permastone (front first floor), but other than that, it's a dandy! Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Another fine little Hathaway in Ann Arbor. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

I wonder if the Realtor knows it's a Sears kit house? Based on my research, more than 90% of the people living in these houses don't realize what they have. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Conway (also known as "Uriel"), as seen in the 1919 Sears Modern Homes catalog.

Another snow-covered example in Ann Arbor! Notice the original bracketing under the oversized front gable, and that "phantom" brick pillar on the far right. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

As seen in the 1928 catalog, "The Ashland."

Where's a good chainsaw when you need one? Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

As mentioned, in addition to Sears, Ann Arbor also has kit homes from other companies, including Gordon Van Tine/Montgomery Ward, and Lewis Manufacturing. Shown above is one of GVT's biggest and bet kit homes, "The #711." Quite a house!

And what a fine 711 it is! By the way, this was a huge house, measuring 48' wide and 30' deep, giving a total of 2,880 square feet. I have to double check, but I believe this was the largest kit home that was offered by Gordon Van Tine, and size-wise, it's the same as the Sears Magnolia (also 2,880 square feet). Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Gordon Van Tine fulfilled all of the orders for Montgomery Ward (Wardway), and their catalogs were nearly identical. Wardway had a few designs not seen in the GVT catalog, and GVT had a few not found in the Wardway catalog. Shown above is the Wardway Laurel, as seen in the 1929 catalog.

That offset front porch is a distinctive feature of the Wardway Laurel. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Laurel as seen from the other side. That small side porch is original to the house, and surprisingly - in still open (as when built). Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Devonshire was one of those kit homes that was offered in the Wardway catalog, but not in the Gordon Van Tine catalog. It was on the cover of the 1931 (which was the last) Wardway catalog.

I just love that the Devonshire in Ann Arbor is painted the same colors as the house on the cover of the 1931 catalog. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Cranford was another house offered only in the Wardway catalog (1927).

I surely do love a house dressed up in pink. I really do. This Cranford is (like so many of the houses in Ann Arbor) in largely original condition. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Kenwood, as seen in the 1929 Wardway catalog. As with the Cranford and the Devonshire, the Kenwood was exclusively a Wardway home (milled, manufactured and shipped by Gordon Van Tine).

Is this a Wardway Kenwood? Most likely it is, but the inset door is not a spot-on match. However, this house has had a substitute siding installed, and the door may have been squared off to accommodate the replacement siding. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Perhaps Wardway's most popular house, the Priscilla was pretty and practical (1929).

And here's a fine example of the pretty, pretty Priscilla! Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Last but not least is Lewis Manufacturing. They were based in Bay City, so it's not surprising to find a kit home from Lewis there in Ann Arbor. The Marlboro was a very popular house for them, and for good reason. It was a real beauty, and a big house!

Ann Arbor's very own Marlboro. Sounds a bit poetic, doesn't it? The offset front door and the tiny closet window beside it are classic defining features of the Marlboro. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

That little closet window is still in place, but it's been partially closed up. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Teddy loves learning about kit homes. She spends much of her spare time reading "The Mail-Order Homes of Montgomery Ward," and thanks to her tireless studying, she can be a great help when we're out hunting for kit homes. She's not called "Teddy the Wonder Dog" for nothing!

The Sunlight, as seen in the 1928 catalog.

Look at the size of those bedrooms!

The Sunlight (1928).

When I was in Elgin, Illinois in February 2010, Rebecca Hunter drove me out to this house and said, "Are you ready to see the most perfect Sunlight in the world?" It is in pristine condition and has been painstakingly restored. The homeowners have the original blueprints.

Another view of the perfect Sunlight in Elgin, IL.

Rebecca then drove me out to this Sunlight in Crystal Lake, Illinois. It's also in very good condition.

Cindy Catanzaro found this Sunlight in Springfield, Ohio. It's had some alterations, but is still identifiable as a Sunlight. Photo is copyright 2012 Cindy Catanzaro and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Another view of the Sunlight in Springfield. Photo is copyright 2012 Cindy Catanzaro and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

This is an older picture showing a pretty little Sunlight that was feeling forlorn and forgotten. I'm happy to report that this home is now in the hands of a happy family who truly values the home's unique, historical origins. Photo is copyright 2012 Cindy Catanzaro and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Same house as shown above, this Sunlight is already starting to feel loved and cared for, thanks to its new owners! Photo is copyright 2012 Cindy Catanzaro and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

And you might notice that this Sunlight has had an addition put on the back. As originally built, it had a mere 768 square feet. Photo is copyright 2012 Cindy Catanzaro and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.