When Dale, Rebecca and I were gallivanting about the Midwest, seeking and finding kit homes, we developed a few “abbreviations” and one of them was, “The CLH.”
“No, don’t bother pulling out the books for this one,” one of us might say. “It’s just a CLH.”
The other two would sigh and then we’d move on to the next house.
CLH could stand for many things: “Cute Little House,” or “Compact Little House” or “Common Little House” or sometimes…
“Crummy Little House.”
In other words, the house was so modest, so plain and so tiny (and typically so remuddled) that there was no way to identify it. Further complicating the issue was that all the major companies (Sears, Lewis Manufacturing, Wardway, Gordon Van Tine, Aladdin, Sterling and Harris Brothers), all offered several versions of the CLH.
These houses were so tiny (under 600 square feet) that they were often the victims of significant remodeling and additions, making identification more problematical.
Because of this, I don’t have any photos of CLHs. But we do have testimonials, which might help us find a few CLHs.
One such example of a CLH is the Wayside, and this a fun one because the 1919 Sears Modern Homes catalog showed INTERIOR photos of the house! Those interior photos bear little resemblance to the true facts, but hey, why let facts get in the way of a good story? 🙂
If you know where this house is, and/or are willing to get me a photo, I’d be very grateful!
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The Wayside, as seen in the 1919 catalog. It has only 520 square feet.
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Notice it does not have a bathroom! And the bedrooms are teeny!
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Which means you'll need to spend an extra $41 for a two-seater.
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But the price was right!
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Holy Toledo, it was so cheap you didn't even get wooden railings, but chains!
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Yup, chains!
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The interior shots were not quite honest.
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I mean c'mon, does this look like a room that's 10 by 12? But I do love the Arts & Crafts decor, complete with little hearts carved into the coffee table. A&C furniture is notoriously bulky and massive, but these four pieces fit with ease into a 10x12 room!
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The kitchen - another fantasy. It's 10-feet by 9-feet in reality. The object hanging over the sink (the thing that looks like a soap dispenser) is a light fixture. This was the ONLY light fixture in the kitchen, and it was also the only electricity in the kitchen. In the 1919, electrical outlets in the kitchen were considered unsafe and unnecessary (by male architects). At least the larder is full! That cook stove on the left would have been a behemoth, and would have taken up a lot of real estate, especially in a room that was nine-feet wide!
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Ah, the good news! We know where they are! Do you have a wayside in your town?
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Have you seen this house?
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To read the next really fun blog, click here.
To learn more about Sears Homes in the Midwest, click here.
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My Nebraska ancestors upgraded from a soddy in 1895 to a wood frame 24 ft x 24 ft house that looks suspiciously like it could be an early version of the CLH. The oral history is they ordered the plans and material by mail which were shipped by train.
I do have a picture of it from an 1896 newspaper article. The house has gone through multiple expansions but it is still standing.
Is there any information about the earliest houses Sears offered? Thank you!