A couple days ago (May 1st), I returned to Staunton to do a little more research on the kit homes in the city (in preparation for my talk on May 2nd), and this time, I was driven around by Frank Strassler, head of the Historic Staunton Foundation. It’s a lot easier to focus on kit homes when someone else is doing all the driving, and especially when that someone else knows where they’re going!
We found many kit homes that I’d not seen during a prior visit, and the most intriguing find was the four Harris Brothers kit homes we discovered. Frankly, I suspect there are more than four HB houses in Staunton, but I’m not that familiar with this company and, I have very few of their catalogs.
Harris Brothers (formerly the Chicago House Wrecking Company) was based in Chicago, Illinois. How did four Harris Brothers houses end up in Staunton? And three of them were in the same neighborhood (Sears Hill).
Hopefully, some of Staunton’s history loving residents will poke around a bit more, because I’m sure there are many more hidden architectural treasures just waiting to be found.
And, a little aside: My favorite memory of the lecture on Thursday evening? I asked the crowd (128 attendees!), “Before there was a World War Two, does anyone know what we called World War One?”
To my utter delight and astonishment, a cacophony of voices replied, “The Great War.”
It was sheer bliss to realize that I was surrounded by so many history lovers. In all my travels, there’s typically a lone voice (or less), that correctly answers that question. The people of Staunton really do love their history, and better yet, they know their history, and that’s such a joy to behold.
To read the first blog I wrote about Staunton’s kit homes, click here.
OOOH, an update! Read about my newest find in Staunton here!
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First, my favorite find in Staunton. Shown above is Modern Home #2028 from the 1923 Harris Brothers catalog (courtesy of Dale Wolicki).
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It looks like a massive house, but in fact, it's 22 feet wide and 29 feet deep.
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Originally, I snapped this photo just because it seemed like a good idea. Sometimes, something will trigger a memory, and I didn't consciously remember having seen this house, and yet, when I got back to my hotel and started going through the old catalogs, I realized it was a perfect match to the Harris Brothers #2028!
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And, as a nice bonus, I even managed to snap my one photo from the perfect angle! Though not easily seen in the photo above, the house in Staunton has the two bay windows, just as it should!
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The other three Harris Brothers homes were in one neighborhood: Sears Hill. Shown above is Modern Home #1017 from the 1923 Harris Brothers catalog (courtesy of Dale Wolicki).
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The HB 1017, as seen in 1923.
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And here's the 1017 in Staunton! Look at the unique window arrangement on the home's front. And check out those unique columns, and the bracketing under the eaves. It was tough to get a good photo, but the little attic window is also a spot-on match to the catalog page. The house is 24 feet' wide and 36 feet deep. The dimensions of this house (shown above) seem to be a good match! The line drawings (from the original catalogs) are sometimes a little bit off in scale and proportion.
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If you look down the side, you'll see it's a good match there, too. BTW, Staunton is very hilly, and I learned that it's tough to get good house photos in hilly neighborhoods! And, the angle skews the proportions. Short of carrying a 20-foot stepladder around on top of the Camry, I'm not sure how to solve this.
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HB # 1025 was another "favorite" find for me, and yet another kit home that I'd never seen before. From the 1923 Harris Brothers catalog (courtesy of Dale Wolicki).
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HBClose-up of HB #1025. From the 1923 Harris Brothers catalog (courtesy of Dale Wolicki).
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At the lower right of that catalog page (seen above), is an actual photo of a HB #1025. This photo shows off those beautiful six casement windows on the front.
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What a fine house! Here's a real life example of HB #1025. And look at those pretty casement windows! Were it not for those original windows, I'm not sure I would have recognized this 90-year-old kit home.
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Another view of those wonderful old casements. By the way, apparently this house is for sale. Someone should contact the owner and let them know - this is a kit house!
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Close-up of the porch columns. And this house still has its original gutters.
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HB #1007 was one of their more popular designs, however... It's also a house that has several "twins." Given that Staunton's #1007 is within three houses of the other two HB homes, I'm going to assume that the model in Staunton is indeed from Harris Brothers.
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Nice house, isn't it? Love the rocking chairs!
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Staunton's own HB #1017.
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While we were out driving around, I also spotted a Sears Woodland. The Woodland is an eye-catcher because it has those two full-sized windows flanking the front door. And it has an unusual window arrangement down the right side (as shown here). This image is from the 1919 catalog.
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The small attic dormer is missing but other than that, this is a great match. Due to landscaping, I was not able to get a good photo of that right side, but it does match the catalog image. Was the house built sans dormer, or was it removed during a roofing job? Hard to know, but I'd guess that it was built this way. And, this house is next door to the big Harris Brothers foursquare (#2028).
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Another fun discovery on this most recent trip was the Sears Winona in Staunton (1938 catalog).
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This house was offered in two floorplans (in 1938). The floorplan shown here is a match to the house in Staunton. It squeezes three bedrooms into 960 square feet.
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A key feature in identifying this very simple house is the small space between those two windows in the gabled bay (dining room).
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What a nice match!
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And the other side is a good match, too!
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Despite two days of driving around, we never did spot the Stanhope (Aladdin) purchased by Mr. Linkenholer.
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As seen in the 1919 catalog, here's a picture of the Aladdin Stanhope. Where's Mr. Linkholer's Stanhope? I'd love to know!
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To learn more about how to identify kit homes, click here.
To read more about the kit homes of Staunton, click here.
To contact Rose, please leave a comment below!
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Thank you, Rose, for a wonderful evening of fact and fun. It was just the right blend of enthusiasm and history and the audience could have listened all night.
My granddaughter, Maggie Rose, will be so pleased with her specially autographed copy of your book.
I still find it hard to believe that age 12 she came up with the idea of focusing on the impact of the Sears Kit houses on our nation. She made a three-foot-high trifold board with illustrations and support facts, and I would love to have her send a photo to you but I neglected to copy down your email as I thought it would be in the book.
Carry on your search and I hope to see attend another lecture in another venue in the future.
My best,
Karen Rosasco (retired high school art teacher)
That Harris No 1017 is a great find! It does have a few copies, the Radford #5118, the Sears #126 and Chicago House Wrecking #117.
Chimney placement and the front is a little different from house to house. People don’t realize how confusing this can be sometimes! Memorizing all of those details takes a special “eye” 😉
My favorite from above is that Harris #2028! What an exact match. Just awesome.
Our Sears Woodland had its dormer removed about a year ago when the roof was replaced. Evidently it was leaking.