The Adorable Attleboro – Right Here in Portsmouth, Virginia

Post-1930s Sears kit homes are hard to find. Sales of the 12,000-piece, do-it-yourself kits plummeted in the early years after the Great Depression.  But one of the most popular post-depression kit homes is the Sears Attleboro.

Several years ago, when I did a survey of kit homes for the city of Portsmouth, I was delighted and surprised to find the Sears Attleboro in the Shea Terrace section of Portsmouth. It’s in beautiful condition, and the owners have done a fine job of keeping it maintained.

I wonder if they realize what a treasure they have!

The Sears Attleboro was on the cover of the 1936 catalog.

The Sears Attleboro was on the cover of the 1938 catalog.

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And what a fine little house it was!

And what a fine little house it was!

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If you read the fine print, youll see that the screened-in porch could be built on the *back* of the house, instead of the side.

If you read the fine print, you'll see that the screened-in porch could be built on the *back* of the house, instead of the side.

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That side porch was offset a bit from the house.

That side porch was offset a bit from the house. Notice the three small columns in each corner.

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The Attleboro - as shown in 1938.

The Attleboro - as shown in 1938.

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And here it is, in the flesh.

And here it is, in the "flesh." That side porch is offset (as it should be)!

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Close-up of the porch.

Close-up of the porch.

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To learn more about Sears Homes, click here.

To read about Aunt Addie’s exhumation, click here.

To buy Rose’s book, click here.

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