Sadly, you can’t believe everything you read on the internet, and that’s even more true when it comes to the Sears Homes info at Wikipedia.
Several years ago, I was a frequent visitor to the Sears Home page at Wikipedia. I uploaded several photos and added lots of text. More than anything, I was forever editing out mistakes. But not 24 hours later after my corrections appeared, someone (or several someones) came behind me and undid all the changes I’d made, re-introducing all the mistakes that I had just edited out.
This went on for months, and it was quite frustrating.
As my dear husband pointed out, life is too short for such shenanigans. Although it was maddening to see the historical record compromised, I surrendered and abandoned my efforts to correct the bad info.
Today I returned to Wikipedia for the first time in a couple years, and saw photos that were labeled “Sears Homes” and yet they were clearly NOT Sears Homes.
But perhaps most “interesting” was this comment:
I have not seen Bucksport, Maine but it’s mighty hard to believe that there’s an entire neighborhood in one town in Maine that is filled with only ONE model of Sears Home.
However, I’ve been wrong before and I could be wrong again, so if anyone reading this lives anywhere near Bucksport, Maine, how about getting me a few photos of the Town Site neighborhood?
Updated: One of the houses in this neighborhood has been listed for sale, giving a build-date of 1930. The Belfast model was not offered for sale until 1934. If that build date is accurate (which is a big ‘if’), these can not possibly be Sears “Belfasts” (as is claimed).
However, I’d still love to have some photos!
How is it that this is such a common mistake? Click here to see the answer.
To read more about how to identify Sears Homes, click here.
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An entire town in Bucksport of these houses? I need to see some photos.
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Close-up of the house that's "all over Bucksport."
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Last but not least, the floorplan.
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To read the next blog, click here.
If you’re able to get some photos for me, please leave a comment below, or send an email to Rosemary.ringer@gmail.com.
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Wikipedia has become a joke. I certainly hope students don’t quote information from there, it is often wrong.
That quote “The entire Town Site neighborhood in Bucksport, Maine consists of Sears Homes in the Belfast model” reminds me of my favorite commercial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmx4twCK3_I
I’m from Bucksport. Every house in that little neighborhood looks exactly like the picture above.
Whether or not they’re real sears homes, I have no idea.
Please share some addresses of these houses. Even better would be photos.
Andrew is right! It’d be great to see some photos of these homes!
I’m moving to Maine next month, and will stop by Bucksport and take some photos for you!
If you know of any Sears homes in Maine, let me know. I’ve become obsessed with these beautiful homes, and it’s now my dream to own one.
Thank you so much for a fantastic blog!
Thanks, Jacquelyn! I’d love to have some photos!
I looked on Google maps and Bing, but I don’t see such a neighborhood with that home. The Bagley Avenue area looks like it has a lot of homes of the same type, but they’ve got 3 windows across the 2nd level.
I grew up in that neighborhood and I can’t vouch for the houses being Sears Houses, but whatever house they are, they all have the same floor plan.
The houses on the corners are slightly bigger than the others, and by the 1980’s there were accumulated differences in details and fixtures.
I grew up in one of those houses in Bucksport and was inside many of them.
Just looking at the floor plan, I can tell it’s not Belfast house.
The proportions are of and the location of the staircase is wrong.
Did you ever get pictures? I’m from Maine and I’d be happy to take a road trip up to Bucksport this summer and take some pics!
It’s always possible to “look around” Bucksport by using Google Street View.