Thanks the Historic Staunton Foundation, I’ll be returning to Staunton on May 2nd to give a talk on the kit homes of Staunton!
As mentioned in a prior blog, Staunton has an interesting array of kit homes of all sizes, shapes and from several companies. And at 7 pm (Thursday evening), I’ll give a powerpoint presentation, featuring the kit homes I’ve discovered in the city.
It’ll be a lot of fun, comparing and contrasting original vintage images from the old catalogs with contemporary photos. And I’ll also talk about how to identify kit homes. A “windshield survey” is a good start, but even with a thorough street-by-street visual inspection, it’s still possible to overlook a few kit homes.
There are ways to identify a kit house from inside, including marked lumber, hidden blueprints, grease-pencil marks and shipping labels often found in unsuspecting places. We’ll talk about that on May 2nd.
Staunton has kit homes from Sears (the best known of the mail-order kit house companies), and Aladdin (the largest of the companies), Gordon Van Tine and Montgomery Ward.
And how did Staunton end up with so many kit homes? We’ll talk about that on May 2nd!
For a sneak preview of the beauties we’ve found in Staunton, scroll on down!
To learn more, visit the website for the Historic Staunton Foundation.
Many thanks to Leslie Hayes and Linda Ramsey for not only providing the wonderful photos shown below, but in some cases, finding these Sears Homes!
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The Berwyn as seen in the 1928 catalog.
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And here's a perfect Berwyn (in stucco) on Noon Street. Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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The Maytown was -- as the ad promised - a big seller.
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The Maytown in Staunton overlooks Gypsy Hill Park.
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The Wilmont was not a popular house (shown here in the 1920 catalog).
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And yet, is this a Wilmont in Staunton? I've puzzled over this house for close to an hour, and I'm still undecided. That dormer window on the side is pretty distinctive. I'd love to see the inside of this house. That would help me figure it out once and for all!
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The Wardway Cordova is another very distinctive house.
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And here's one in Staunton. Yes, it's a little rough around the edges, but it's still standing! Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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The Sussex was offered by Gordon Van Tine (based in Davenport, Iowa). The image above is from the 1929 Gordon Van Tine catalog.
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And here it is, looking picture perfect! What a fine-looking Sussex it is, too! Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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My oh my, that's a sweet match!
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The Gordon Van Tine "Roberts" (shown above) was a hugely popular house.
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And here's a perfect Roberts on North Augusta (Staunton). Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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The Aladdin Plymouth was a classic Dutch Colonial.
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And here's a beautiful example of the Aladdin Plymouth.
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In addition to kit homes, Staunton has a few "Plan Book" houses. Plan book homes were different from ktt homes, because with a plan book house, you purchased the blueprints and a detailed inventory that showed you precisely how much lumber you'd need to order for your house. With kit homes, the lumber was included. Plan book houses were quite common in the 1920s and 1930s. This model was "The Mayfield," (offered in a plan book titled, "Harris, McHenry and Baker").
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It's hiding behind that tree, but you can still see this is a Mayfield. Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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Both of Staunton's Mayfields are painted the same color.
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The Genessee was another plan book house found in the Harris, McHenry and Baker planbook.
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And here's a picture perfect Genessee on Straith Street in Staunton. Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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The Dover is one of my favorite Sears Homes. Cute, practical and easy to identify!
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Sadly, I did not visit nearby communities in Staunton during my visit there in mid-February, but I found this house while I was driving via Google Maps. Only a tiny part of Weyer's Cave is mapped (with street views on Google), and this Dover is on the main drag. Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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The Gladstone was one of Sears "Top Ten" most popular homes (1916 catalog).
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It's been added onto, and yet I'm wholly confident that this is a Gladstone in Weyer's Cave. It's within 1/4 mile of the Dover shown above. Photo is copyright 2013 Leslie M. Hayes and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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In all my travels, I've never seen a Sears Rosita (from the 1919 catalog).
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Linda Ramsey discovered this Sears Rosita in Deerfield, Virginia (near Staunton), and it's in original condition - a very rare find! Rositas were "Strong and Graceful" (sort of), but they were very simple and modest homes, which makes them difficult to identify and very prone to extensive and insensitive remodeling. To find this 94-year-old house in such pristine condition - and looking just like the old catalog page - is a real treat! Photo is copyright 2013 Linda Ramsey and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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The Sears Crescent was a very popular house for Sears (1928 catalog).
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Linda Ramsey also discovered this picture-perfect Crescent in Verona (also near Staunton). And what a perfect match it is! Photo is copyright 2013 Linda Ramsey and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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And according to Aladdin literature, there's an Aladdin Stanhope in Staunton, but where?
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Here's a perfect Aladdin Stanhope in Scotland Neck, NC (near Roanoke Rapids). Where is the Stanhope in Staunton? If you've seen it, please leave a comment below!
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Please do join us on May 2nd for my talk on Sears Homes. Having given more than 250 talks in 27 states, the top three comments I hear are:
“Oh my gosh, I had no idea that a talk on history could be so much fun!”
“I didn’t want it to end. I could have listened to you all night!”
“Your passion for this topic really shines through!”
And – as a nice bonus – it’s very educational evening, and I promise, it’ll forever change the way you see the houses in your city!
🙂
Click here to learn more about how to get tickets.
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Be there or be square!
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To learn more about identifying kit homes, click here.
To read the first blog I wrote about Staunton’s kit homes, click here.
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Those planbook homes are from Standard Home Plans Co. Dover Publications made an error on that reprint! OOPSIE!
Harris, McHenry and Baker were not the authors they were lumber dealers in Elmira, NY in the early 1900’s who like several lumber dealers had their company name printed on the Standard Home Plans catalog. That is actually a reprint of the SHP 1926 catalog. Dover has another reprint of the 1928 catalog.
If someone in Staunton wants to email John Fierst at the Clarke they can look up the actual sales order for that Stanhope and scan it.
I have done this a few times recently. Just yesterday I received a sales order for a house in Bartlesville. In the email give the info, WA Linkenhoker shipped a Stanhope to Staunton, Va and it was in the 1919 Hattiesburg Index (there’s only one) and the sales order number is E-17537.
With that info they should be able to find it immediately.
I found that with the house in Bartlesville the name it was ordered under was likely someone who did not live in the house, possibly an employee for someone. I have found this to be the case in several of the houses I have sales orders for.
They were ordered by a company’s employee. If you get that actual sales receipt you might be able to figure out who actually built the house and possibly locate it.
Look on Sherwood Drive and you will find an excellent example of the Wardway Cordova. It is on the left. My cousin lives in it.
I live at 543 Thornrose Avenue in Staunton, next door to a near perfect match to the Woodland! Had no idea it was a Sears kit home.
I believe there are quite a few sears kit homes in Harrisonburg, VA (within twenty minutes of Staunton, VA).
There’s one on the est end of west Water Street.
I own a Sears Home on North High Street (four bedroom with two stories). The first floor has a living room with a fireplace, large beautiful entry w/pillars into living area, lots of wide woodwork, original transom windows above second floor bedroom doors with brass hardware, original glass (you can see tiny bubbles if you look closely) in French doors from dining into living area.
The exterior front door has side lites and beautiful curved ornate glass across top. The house was built in 1907.
Love this house and it has a very steep staircase leading to a floored attic. The kitchen is spacious and has a 1/2 bath added in the area that was the back porch.
The living room fireplace works, and the one in kitchen was blocked off, although itschimney is still in place, viewable from outside only.