Harris Brothers was a small Chicago-based kit home company that started out life as a house-wrecking company. Today, we use another name to describe this line of work; something a little more delicate and environmentally friendly, like “Architectural Salvage.”
Of the six national companies, selling kit homes through mail-order catalogs, Harris Brothers was probably the least-well known.
According to fellow researcher Rebecca Hunter, Harris Brothers got their start when they were awarded contracts to demolish exhibitions at the 1893 World’s Fair (also known as The Chicago World’s Fair). That same year, they were first incorporated as The Chicago House Wrecking Company. In 1913, they changed their name and their image: Harris Brothers.
Rebecca‘s research shows that their last mail-order pre-cut house catalog was issued in 1931. From then until 1958, the company remained in business, selling millwork and building materials through mail order catalogs.
Identifying Harris Brothers’ homes is especially difficult because so many of these designs were also offered in popular building magazines and also in planbooks. Outside of the Midwest, one has to be especially careful because it’s virtually impossible to tell – from the exterior – if a house is a Harris Brothers’ kit home, or a house ordered from another source.
Harris Brothers' catalog from 1915
It's 1917 and the happy couple on the cover are still reviewing the paperwork, trying to decide on their new home.
This letter (reprinted here in original colors) accompanied the Harris Brothers' catalog and extolled the many salutary benefits of owning a Harris Brothers' home. Those tilting houses in the left margin make me a little nervous. Kind of a "wizard of oz spinning house" thing.
The catalog was also filled with happy testimonials from happy buyers.
"Cheap" is such a harsh sounding word.
Where's OSHA when you need them? This picture is from 1915.
Harris Brothers J-161, as seen in the 1917 catalog.
And here it is, in living color. Nice match, too. This house is in Richmond, VA.
Harris Brothers
Sears Modern Home #190 or Harris Brothers J-84? It's impossible to know without inspecting the interior and comparing the precise room measurements of the two floorplans. From the exterior, these two homes are identical.This house is also in Richmond.
This is the Harris Brothers Ardmore, and it's not hard to spot this house with that unusual second floor poking up out of that roofline! (Vintage catalog image supplied by Dan Becker.)
Is it an Harris Brother's Ardmore ? Physically, it's a good match from the outside. This house is in Suffolk, VA. Darn tree wouldn't get out of the way, despite repeated warnings from a certain author. Even making chain-saw noises didn't help. The tree remained perfectly still, unfazed and unimpressed.
This Ardmore is in Vinton, Virginia, a small town just outside of Roanoke.
Harris Brothers' Ardmore in Raleigh, NC.
And they sold pre-cut kit barns, too.
To learn more about how to identify kit homes, click here.
To learn more about Rose, click here.
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Hi Rose,
I think I am living in Harris Brothers house no. 1504.
From looking through plan books, I’ve noticed that Harris homes have variations on a single home, and they are numbered such as J-1504 or N-1504. I can’t find my home’s exact letter designation, though N-1504 is close. My home is a little bigger.
Do you have a tip on how I can track down more Harris Homes plan books? I think I’ve exhausted the ones on the Internet.
Thank you.