Can you imagine being able to flip through a SEARS, ROEBUCK AND CO. catalog full of house plans, choose one like this charming “Puritan” model, and buy it for as little as $1,500?
Sears sold Modern Homes kits like this one between 1908-1940. Each kit contained between 10,000-30,000 pieces with which you could build your house. They were shipped on boxcars, so you’d go to the railroad station to pick it up. Blueprints were drawn so that novice homebuilders could understand them and came with a 75-page instruction book explaining how to put everything together.
The catalogs assured customers that “a man of average abilities could assemble a Sears kit home in about 90 days.” About half of the kit homes were built by professional homebuilders, but those who did it themselves saved about 30% off the cost of a conventionally built home. In 1908, a contractor charged about $450 to put a kit together. Even then it was considered a bargain.
The Sears catalog homes were made with the finest materials, including cypress for all exterior components like the window trim and clapboard, and first-growth, top-grade southern yellow pine for framing. Kitchen and bath floors were solid tongue and groove maple.
According to Rosemary Thornton, who writes extensively on the topic:
A Crescent home was built in Libertyville, Illinois in 1929, and here’s what it looks like today:
An example of another “Crescent” model that has since been remodeled to include an addition, including an attached garage:
Here’s the Lewiston model, which was offered between 1929 and 1939:
And a photo of one of a Lewiston as it looks today (built in 1932):
The Barrington model, which was sold between 1926-1929, was billed as an example of “English-style architecture:”
Here’s an example of a Barrington home today with a brick exterior:
This was the Mitchell model, sold between 1928-1940:
Here’s a Mitchell, built in 1928, as it stands today:
This model was called “Puritan” and featured “Six or Seven Rooms, Bath, and Porch.” It was sold from 1922-1929:
Here’s a Puritan today in Libertyville, Illinois:
And another Puritan with the original siding (built in 1926):
Do you have a favorite model of these shown here?
What fascinates me is how so many of these houses shaped our American ideas of what “home” should look like, even though the last one was built in 1940.
If you have ever lived in a Sears Catalog house, please tell us about it (and send photos, if possible!). Thanks to Maya of Springtree Road who gave me the idea for this post and sent me lots of links to get started. This was a fun post to research! I hope you enjoyed learning about these houses as much as I did.
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
This is now officially my favorite blog on the planet! This post made me cry… I am from Savannah Georgia (currently living in NJ) and there are tons of these houses there…It reminded me so much of home I just started to tear up…was already feeling a little homesick.
I also get a lump in my throat when I see those designs. They are some of may favorite looks. I guess I am just a Puritan at heart because those models have always appealed to me.
My Aunt Lelah lived in a Lewiston or one modeled like it and I thought it was something only rich folks had. I think we rented a Sears House in Illinois when we first married. At least the old folks called it a Sears. It had a big porch like the first model but was one story.
We have an oak Sears Wardrobe knock down that was shipped by rail during the same period. The Antique dealer said it was built around the turn of the century. (1900)
I really admire the ingenuity and craftsmanship of Americans. This allowed our ancestors to have quality houses all across America and the country settled with a society quite fast.
I love the Crescent and the Mitchell, but really, I love them all. Having a beautiful home at a reasonable price - what more could a person ask for?
I’m sure building houses is too complex now to be able to do the same thing, but wouldn’t it be lovely if you could?
I love the Puritan! That first house (the 10 room one) looks pretty sweet with that front and back porch. I’ve heard of these homes and I’ve seen them…just never so many examples in one place! Love it!!
One of the things I admire about Sears homes and the era in which they were built is that Americans were FINE with living in a house they ordered from a catalog that arrived on a train and that had an interior and exterior everyone with which everyone would be familiar. Somehow, no matter how similar the process of going to a builder and selecting flooring and lighting options, I just can’t imagine anyone doing it today. Particularly when there are 15 year olds out there who wouldn’t be caught dead in clothes from Sears.
I wonder how much it would cost now to build a Sears home with the same quality materials and specs?
I’m kind of fascinated by mail order houses of the past. These Sears houses are good examples. Neat find!
My husband and I were just about to lease (with an opportunity to buy) a Sears house in North Carolina. Someone snatched it up before we moved there. We were so sad!!
They seem like really GREAT houses!
God bless,
Sallie
Oh, this is my favorite post of your blog for the couple months I’ve been reading it. SO interesting and well, “warm”. My fave is the Puritan model, but it was tough to choose.
Wonder how many people have a mail order house & a mail order bride ?
I have the book “Houses by Mail” by Katherine Cole Stevenson and H. Ward Jandl. It is so much fun to look at all the different styles and read the descriptions (”reflects good cheer and gracious dignity”) and I admit to cribbing some phrases when I run out of imagination for my R.E. ads. A must have book for anyone interested in architecture of the first half of the 20th century.
Janet
I’m trying to find a copy of the 75 page instruction booklet for putting the house together… I’m curious about the process, how much of the material was supplied, etc. looked on ebay, amazon, but no luck. Any suggesions?
I grew up in a kit house in New Jersey, although I am not sure it was a Sears. The original paperwork says “kit house.” It is a Four Square from ~1919. I love the window frames and doors etc. One of the charms of the design is that it lets in a lot of light. To our regret, my parents need to sell the house now, as it and the large yard is too much for them. I am always interested when I see a similar house elsewhere in the country.
I am the proud owner of a sears modern kit home. My grandma bought it 65 years ago and I have owned it for 14 years. I am not sure what model it is and would love someone to tell me what they think. email…xassper8ing @yahoo.com. Wisconsin.
beautiful houses
I live in a Sears house. How do I submit the picture of what it looks like today?
Thanks
Renee…I could probably give a good try at telling you what model home you are in…you can email me at nob835@aol.com
Our first home was a Sears Foursquare kit home built around 1910 in Lincoln, Nebraska. During the time we owned it we spent a lot of time restoring and refurbishing every bit of it. The woodwork was wonderful — beautiful oak downstairs and a nice pine upstairs. All of it was covered with layers and layers of white paint. We took 13 pounds of dried paint off the trim in the upstairs hallway alone! The walls were made of concrete block which the original owner and his sons poured themselves — apparently the molds were included in the kit. They looked like stone when assembled — or were supposed to. The house had been painted white and we painted it a terra cotta color true to the time period when it was built. Downstairs walls had airspace created by 2×4s with lathe and plaster walls over it. Upstairs walls were just plastered over the concrete blocks. Oh, did they get cold in the winter — usually a thick layer of frost on the inside walls from December to February. Not drafty just conducted the cold really well. Otherwise, it was a very livable house and of much better quality than our present day home built in 1977!
We just bought a LARGE Sears Kit Home (circa 1910) and we are trying to get as much info and photos on the home as we can to restore it properly. The home is located in the Willamette Valley “Oregon Territory”
I just bought a “Crescent” #3086 Craftsman home in North Olmsted, OH. We are currently restoring it, trying to find about the fireplace. It looks like everything else is pretty much intact except they covered that. We are trying to find photos or know if it was gas or wood burning.
o gosh!! i love those homes
they speak to me it has that air of a family home filled with love and a come on in sit and be comfortable charm i love these homes a while back there was a huge article on a woman who finds these homes and restores them etc!! i found it intriquing when ever i see a home that looks similar i look for that iron s shaped symbol that alot of the the sears homes had back then!!!!
I live in a sears home there are two in this town. they are standing up well all things considered.
I love the Crescent, but it is really hard to find these days.
TWB’s last blog post..Mysterious Find in Houseblog-a-vania
My Great Uncle has one of these houses from the catalog.
My Grandparents supposedly bought one of the first mail order
homes from a Sears catalog. My parents told me a few years ago they had been contacted about the home. At the time the house was still standing in Putnam Texas.
I was told the house was to be moved and reconstructed–like for
a museum. I would like to know if it ever happened. All my elders
that ever lived in the house, have passed. I just want to see the
house again. Any info on locating it would greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Donna
We just put under contract a sears home and would love to find out any iformation you might be able to share. We have many pictures if you would like to see it. It was brought in on the railroad in our town and their is so much history about this house. The local doctor lived in it all these years until his passing. Were very excited to be purchasing it.