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The Amazing Collection of Sears Homes - in the Midwest!

August 28th, 2010 Sears Homes 10 comments

Sears Homes were kit homes that were sold right out of the pages of the Sears Roebuck catalog in the early 1900s. More than 370 designs of kit homes were offered - everything ranging from Arts and Crafts bungalows to foursquares to Colonial Revivals. These homes came in 30,000-piece kits and were shipped to all 48 states. Sears promised that a man of average abilities could have these homes assembled in about 90 days.

Today, the only way to find these kit homes is literally one by one. And that’s what I do. When I decided that Sears Homes would be my career, I endeavored to memorize each of those 370 designs of Sears Homes. Now I can drive the streets of small town America and find the Sears Homes - one by one.

Not surprisingly, the Midwest has an amazing collection of Sears Homes in particular and kit homes in general. Below are a few pictures of the kit homes I’ve found during my travels in the Midwest.

In addition to Sears, there were other companies that sold kit homes, including Aladdin, Gordon Van Tine, Montgomery Ward, Harris Brothers and more.

To read about an Illinois ghost town that once had many Sears Homes, click here.

Did you know Buster Keaton built a kit home? Learn more about that here.

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Interested in old murder mysteries? Click here to read about my Aunt Addie!

The Sears Sherburne was not a very popular house, but it was a beauty!

Close-up of the catalog image

Sears Sherburne in Decatur, IL

Sears Willard, as seen in a 1928 promotional ad

Sears Willard in Peoria, Illinois

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The Sears Ivanhoe was one of thir most magnificent homes.

The Sears Ivanhoe was one of their most magnificent homes.

And here it is, in Elmhurst, Illinois

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The Bandon was not a popular house for Sears.

The only "Bandon" I've ever seen was in Pulaski, Illinois (near Cairo, at the southern most end of Illinois). This Bandon is a perfect match to the catalog picture.

A pre-WW1 Sears Home: Modern Home #264P202

The Sears #264P202 in the flesh. This house is in Okawville, IL

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From the Sears Modern Homes catalog, here's the Sears Glendale

Sears Glendale in Cairo, Illinois

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Sears Gladstone from the Modern Homes catalog

A Sears Gladstone in Carbondale, Illinois

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Sears Fullerton

This Fullerton is in Aurora, Illinois

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The Alhambra was a very popular model for Sears

An Alhambra in Casey, Illinois

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The Sears Argyle was also a very popular house for Sears

Here's a Sears Argyle in New Baden, Illinois.

Below is a perfect little Crescent in Bloomington, Illinois. Every detail is perfect!

To buy Rose’s book, click here.

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To see more pictures of Sears Homes, click here.

Is That A Sears Kit Home? 9 Easy Ways to Tell

August 15th, 2010 Sears Homes 6 comments

The number one question I’m asked again and again - How do you identify a Sears Kit Home?

First, begin by eliminating the obvious. Sears sold these homes between 1908-1940. If your home was built outside of that time frame, it can not be a Sears catalog home. Period. Exclamation mark!

The nine easy signs follow:

1) Look for stamped lumber in the basement or attic. Sears Modern Homes were kit homes and the framing members were stamped with a letter and a number to help facilitate construction. Today, those marks can help prove that you have a kit home.

2) Look for shipping labels. These are often found on the back of millwork (baseboard molding, door and window trim, etc).

3) Check house design using a book with good quality photos and original catalog images. For Sears, I recommend, “The Sears Homes of Illinois” (all color photos). For Wardway, there’s “The Mail-Order Homes of Montgomery Ward.”

4) Look in the attic and basement for any paperwork (original blueprints, letters, etc). that might reveal that you have a Sears home.

5) Courthouse records. From 1911 to 1933, Sears offered home mortgages. Using grantor records, you may find a few Sears mortgages and thus, a few Sears homes.

6) Hardware fixtures. Sears homes built during the 1930s often have a small circled “SR” cast into the bathtub in the lower corner (furthest from the tub spout and near the floor) and on the underside of the kitchen or bathroom sink.

7) Goodwall sheet plaster. This was an early quasi-sheetrock product offered by Sears, and can be a clue that you have a kit home.

8 ) Unique column arrangement on front porch and five-piece eave brackets (see pictures below).

9) Original building permits. In cities that have retained original building permits, you’ll often find “Sears” listed as the home’s original architect.

To buy Rose’s book, click here.

To read another article, click here.

Lumber was numbered to facilitate construction

The numbers are usually less than an inch tall and will be found near the edge of the board.

The Sears Magnolia was also known as Model #2089

See the faint markings on this lumber? This mark was made in blue grease pencil and reads, "2089" and was scribbled on the board when the lumber left Cairo, Illinois. This was a photo taken in a Sears Magnolia in North Carolina. The Sears Magnolia was also known as Model #2089

Sears Magnolia was also known as Model #2089.

Shipping labels can also be a clue that you have a Sears Home.

"The Sears Homes of Illinois" has more than 200 color photos of the most popular designs that Sears offered and can be very helpful in identifying Sears Homes.

Ephemera can help identify a house as a Sears Home. This picture came from an original set of Sears "Honor Bilt" blueprints.

Ephemera and paperwork can provide proof that you do indeed have a Sears Home.

Plumbing fixtures - such as this bathtub - can provide clues, as well. I've found this "SR" (Sears Roebuck) stamp on bathtubs, sinks and toilets. On the sink, it's found on the underside, and on toilets, it's found in the tank, near the casting date.

Goodwall Sheet Plaster was sold in the pages of the Sears Modern Homes catalogs. This was a "fireproof" product that was much like modern sheetrock.

About two dozen of Sears most popular designs had a unique column arrangement that makes identification easier. The Vallonia was one of those 24 Sears Homes with that unique column arrangement.

Close-up of the columns.

And in the flesh...

Houses should be a perfect match to original drawings found in the Sears Modern Homes catalog. This is where people get into trouble. They ignore the details.

Sears "Mitchell" in Elgin, Illinois.

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The Sears Winona, as featured in the 1921 Sears Modern Homes catalog. The house in Raleigh (see below) is just a spot-on match, a rarity in a house of this age!

Sears Winona in Raleigh, looking PERFECT!

Sears Auburn

And a dazzling Auburn in Halifax, NC.

Sears Pheonix from the 1919 Modern Homes catalog.

And a lovely Sears Pheonix in Newman, IL. Photo is courtesy Rebecca Hunter.

To buy Rose’s book, click here.

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Send Rose an email at thorntonrose@hotmail.com

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Categories: Uncategorized Tags: 12000 pieces, aladdin, aladdin kit homes, alvah c. roebuck, american four squares, American foursquare, bedford, bedford falls, cairo, Cairo Illinois, dale patrick wolicki, Dale Wolicki, four square, foursquares, franklin, franklin virginia, gordon van tine, homan and arthington street, homart, homart appliances, homart homes, homart kits, homart line, honor bilt, honor built, houses by mail, Illinois, kit house, kit houses, magnolia, magnolia kit homes, Magnolia manor, mail order, mail order houses, modern homes catalogs, modern homes of sears, nixons family homes, oak park, pre-fab homes, pre-fab houses, prefab homes, prefab houses, prefab kits, richard warren sears, Rose Thornton, Sears Auburn, sears avondale, sears foursquare, sears fullerton, sears gladstone, sears homart, Sears Homes, sears homes in franklin, sears homes in Illinois, sears homes of Illinois, Sears kit Homes, sears magnolia, sears magnolia house, sears mitchell, Sears Modern Homes, sears oak park, Sears Pheonix, sears phoenix, sears precut, sears prefab, sears prefab houses, sears prefabricated, sears rodessa, sears roebuck, sears venice, sears winona, St. Louis, the houses that sears built

The Amazing Collection of Sears Homes in the Midwest

August 2nd, 2010 Sears Homes 17 comments

Not surprisingly, the Midwest has an amazing collection of Sears Homes in particular and kit homes in general. Below are a few pictures of the kit homes I’ve found during my travels in the Midwest.

In addition to Sears, there were other companies that sold kit homes, including Aladdin, Gordon Van Tine, Montgomery Ward, Harris Brothers and more.

To read about the Sears Homes in Carlinville, click here.

To buy Rose’s book, click here.

If you’ve enjoyed the link, please give me a tweet, or share on Facebook!

The Sears Ivanhoe was one of their most magnificent homes.

And here it is, in Elmhurst, Illinois

______

The Bandon was not a popular house for Sears.

The only "Bandon" I've ever seen was in Pulaski, Illinois (near Cairo, at the southern most end of Illinois). This Bandon is a perfect match to the catalog picture.

The Sears Sherburne was not a very popular house, but it was a beauty!

Close-up of the catalog image

Sears Sherburne in Decatur, IL

Sears Willard, as seen in a 1928 promotional ad

Sears Willard in Peoria, Illinois

___

A pre-WW1 Sears Home: Modern Home #264P202

The Sears #264P202 in the flesh. This house is in Okawville, IL

___

From the Sears Modern Homes catalog, here's the Sears Glendale

Sears Glendale in Cairo, Illinois

_____

Sears Gladstone from the Modern Homes catalog

A Sears Gladstone in Carbondale, Illinois

_____

Sears Fullerton

This Fullerton is in Aurora, Illinois

____

The Alhambra was a very popular model for Sears

An Alhambra in Casey, Illinois

____

The Sears Argyle was also a very popular house for Sears

Here's a Sears Argyle in New Baden, Illinois.

Below is a perfect little Crescent in Bloomington, Illinois. Every detail is perfect!

To buy Rose’s book, click here.

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The Amazing Collection of Sears Homes - in the Midwest!

Is That A Sears Kit Home? 9 Easy Ways to Tell

The Amazing Collection of Sears Homes in the Midwest

To read about the Sears Homes in Carlinville, click here.

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