Apparently, it was widely believed that this was a kit home from Sears, but in fact, it was from Gordon Van Tine (another kit home company).

In fact, it's Gordon Van Tine Model 587 (as seen in the 1918 catalog).

"Notice also the odd touches in the design which make it distinctively different."

The addition on the side of the house (shown in the first photo above) apparently was put right off the side porch. That bathroom is mighty small.

Close up of the house shows what a fine match it is!

This picture was taken before that Nandina got so tall and hid the side windows! Photo is from the Staunton Auditor's office, and I am really, really hoping that the fine folks in the Staunton's Auditor's office don't mind my using this photo.

A side-by-side comparison of the little house in Staunton and the catalog image.

And you'll notice that the front door is original, too! Beautiful landscaping, too!

Check out the details around the front porch.

This close-up shows the detail of the lattice work around the columns. It's amazing that this lattice work is still intact. The pergola is gone, replaced with a solid roof, but this is a common modification.

What a pretty house! And now we know - it did *not* come from Sears, but from a mail-order company in Davenport, Iowa: Gordon Van Tine!

I sure do hope the owners come back and check my blog!

First, my favorite find in Staunton. Shown above is Modern Home #2028 from the 1923 Harris Brothers catalog (courtesy of Dale Wolicki).

It looks like a massive house, but in fact, it's 22 feet wide and 29 feet deep.

Originally, I snapped this photo just because it seemed like a good idea. Sometimes, something will trigger a memory, and I didn't consciously remember having seen this house, and yet, when I got back to my hotel and started going through the old catalogs, I realized it was a perfect match to the Harris Brothers #2028!

And, as a nice bonus, I even managed to snap my one photo from the perfect angle! Though not easily seen in the photo above, the house in Staunton has the two bay windows, just as it should!

The other three Harris Brothers homes were in one neighborhood: Sears Hill. Shown above is Modern Home #1017 from the 1923 Harris Brothers catalog (courtesy of Dale Wolicki).

The HB 1017, as seen in 1923.

And here's the 1017 in Staunton! Look at the unique window arrangement on the home's front. And check out those unique columns, and the bracketing under the eaves. It was tough to get a good photo, but the little attic window is also a spot-on match to the catalog page. The house is 24 feet' wide and 36 feet deep. The dimensions of this house (shown above) seem to be a good match! The line drawings (from the original catalogs) are sometimes a little bit off in scale and proportion.

If you look down the side, you'll see it's a good match there, too. BTW, Staunton is very hilly, and I learned that it's tough to get good house photos in hilly neighborhoods! And, the angle skews the proportions. Short of carrying a 20-foot stepladder around on top of the Camry, I'm not sure how to solve this.

HB # 1025 was another "favorite" find for me, and yet another kit home that I'd never seen before. From the 1923 Harris Brothers catalog (courtesy of Dale Wolicki).

HBClose-up of HB #1025. From the 1923 Harris Brothers catalog (courtesy of Dale Wolicki).

At the lower right of that catalog page (seen above), is an actual photo of a HB #1025. This photo shows off those beautiful six casement windows on the front.

What a fine house! Here's a real life example of HB #1025. And look at those pretty casement windows! Were it not for those original windows, I'm not sure I would have recognized this 90-year-old kit home.

Another view of those wonderful old casements. By the way, apparently this house is for sale. Someone should contact the owner and let them know - this is a kit house!

Close-up of the porch columns. And this house still has its original gutters.

HB #1007 was one of their more popular designs, however... It's also a house that has several "twins." Given that Staunton's #1007 is within three houses of the other two HB homes, I'm going to assume that the model in Staunton is indeed from Harris Brothers.

Nice house, isn't it? Love the rocking chairs!

Staunton's own HB #1017.

While we were out driving around, I also spotted a Sears Woodland. The Woodland is an eye-catcher because it has those two full-sized windows flanking the front door. And it has an unusual window arrangement down the right side (as shown here). This image is from the 1919 catalog.

The small attic dormer is missing but other than that, this is a great match. Due to landscaping, I was not able to get a good photo of that right side, but it does match the catalog image. Was the house built sans dormer, or was it removed during a roofing job? Hard to know, but I'd guess that it was built this way. And, this house is next door to the big Harris Brothers foursquare (#2028).

Another fun discovery on this most recent trip was the Sears Winona in Staunton (1938 catalog).

This house was offered in two floorplans (in 1938). The floorplan shown here is a match to the house in Staunton. It squeezes three bedrooms into 960 square feet.

A key feature in identifying this very simple house is the small space between those two windows in the gabled bay (dining room).

What a nice match!

And the other side is a good match, too!

Despite two days of driving around, we never did spot the Stanhope (Aladdin) purchased by Mr. Linkenholer.

As seen in the 1919 catalog, here's a picture of the Aladdin Stanhope. Where's Mr. Linkholer's Stanhope? I'd love to know!

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.

The Devonshire was featured on the cover of the 1931 catalog.

Oh, and it was a charmer!

Price was under $2,400, or a mere $47.50 a month!

In the 1931 catalog, the Devonshire got a two-page spread!

And "it's bound to please, no matter how exacting you are!"

You can even invite the ladies into the living room!

Kitchen's not too shabby either!

Check out that subway tile in the bathroom.

The first floor had a sunporch and an open porch.

Upstairs, there were three small bedrooms and a single bath.

But here's the best part. Mrs. William M. Parker wrote that she was pleased with her new Devonshire, and then she sent in a photograph of the old dump, er, ah, "house" where she paid the landlord $75 a month. Her new mortgage payment was about half of her old rent payment!

Close-up on Mrs. Parker's glowing testimonial.

And here's the old house that Mrs. Parker inhabited before her shiny new Wardway came into her life. I wonder if this house is still standing in Ann Arbor? Pretty distinctive house!

Mrs. William Parker's much-loved house in Ann Arbor. Now that is very cool! Photo is copyright 2013 Andrew Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

And now, 80 years later, Mrs. Parker's Devonshire in Ann Arbor, Michigan is still the same color as the house on the cover! Hey, where's the red roof! :)

In a pinch, you could offer this page to someone as an eye test, and see if they notice that the font gets smaller and smaller near the bottom. On a side note, I have no idea what an "informal massing of the walls" means (near the center of the text). Then again, I have never seen a "formal massing" of walls. Is it like an informal gathering? Are the walls just hanging out together, having one big quiet party? If you were a quiet wall and you didn't participate in these informal gatherings, would you be a wall flower? Or would you just be a wall wall? One has to wonder. (From 1926 catalog.)

Pricey little dog, given the fact that this was 1926.

I don't see any informal massing of the walls here. However, I bet that breakfast room was a chilly place on a balmy Michigan winter morning.

I wonder if the "informal masses" are hiding in the spacious closets?

Chesterfield, as seen in the 1926 catalog.

What a beauty! It's been altered a bit but the original lines are still there. And the third floor of this house must be quite spacious. This house is in Clawson, Michigan which (thanks to Andrew, Wendy and Melodie) has been found to be a real hotbed of kit homes! Photo is copyright 2012 Melodie Nichols and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

A side view of the Chesterfield. Look at that enormous chimney. Photo is copyright 2012 Melodie Nichols and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Oh my stars, now we KNOW it's a Sears Home! It has an "S" on the chimney!! Ah, not really. This is one CRAZY myth that is still bouncing around on the internet. That "S" on the chimney is a stylistic feature that has nothing to do with whether or not it's a Sears House. In this case, that "S" is part of the brace that helps keep that oversized chimney stable. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Nice shooting, Melodie! She did a perfect job of photographing the house from the same angle as the original catalog picture.

The Sears Rembrandt

For a "big" house, it had a very small kitchen!

Lumber was numbered to facilitate construction, but still, building the Rembrandt from a kit would have been quite a task!

Catalog image of the Rembrandt

The real deal in Annapolis, MD. And notice it has Buckingham Slate on the roof. Buckingham Slate is the crème de la crème of slate and weighs 1,400 pounds per square. When building a house that will have a slate roof, the roof is specially constructed to accommodate this tremendous amount of weight. Here in the Southeast, I've seen several Sears Homes with this Buckingham Slate roof.

Sears Rembrandt in West Chicago, Illinois. Where's a chain saw when you need it?

This Sears Rembrandt is in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and can not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Comparison of the Rembrandt in Ann Arbor with the original catalog picture.

Beautiful house but it sure looks chilly!! Photo is copyright 2012 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and can not be used or reproduced without written permission.

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.

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.)

"Refinement and Comfort here." Sounds lovely!!

Here's an Elsmore that was built in Cairo, IL not far from the spot where Sears had their 40-acre lumber mill. This Elsmore, built at 1501 Commerce Avenue, was torn down pre-2001. I visited Cairo then and went looking for this house, but 1501 Commerce was an empty lot at that point. How many Sears Homes in Cairo have been razed? It's a vexing question.

Another vintage Elsmore. This one was in Glenshaw, PA (1919 catalog).

This is one of my favorite Elsmores. It's in Park Ridge, Illinois. Picture perfect in every way. Photo is copyright 2010, Dale Patrick Wolicki and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

And the crème de la crème. Cindy Catazaro found this house in Oakwood Ohio and it has been lovingly and faithfully restored. The house has obviously had some "renovations," but they've been done in a thoughtful, sensitive manner. I'm so impressed to know that there are people in the world who love their Sears House *this* much! Photo is copyright 2012, Cindy Catazaro and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

An skinny mini-Elsmore? It might be a trick of the eye, but it appears this Elsmore in Walnutport, PA is a little narrower than the catalog version. The window arrangement is also a little different. I'd love to know the history behind this house. Photo is copyright 2012 Angela Laury and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

The Elsmore, as it appeared in the later 1910s and 20s was actually a remodel of Modern Home #126, which was first offered in the 1908 (first) Sears Modern Homes catalog.

If you compare the two floorplans, you'll see how similar they are. This is the floorplan for the Sears Modern Home #126 (1908). Notice the size of the rooms and placement of windows.

And here's the floorplan for the Elsmore (1916). The chamfered corners are gone and the front porch is different, but the rest of the house is the same, down to window placement and room size. The front porch roof on Modern Home #126 (with cantilevers) *always* sagged due to its fantastic weight. Not a good design. The changes to the Elsmore porch fixed that problem.