How did New Bern come to have so many kit homes? Is it because of New Bern’s proximity to Aladdin’s largest mill in Wilmington, North Carolina? Perhaps, but how does that explain the grandiose Sears Homes I found on Spencer Street?
It’s a mystery, but I hope it’s one that this community will fully explore!
What is a kit home?
Sears is the best-known name in the kit home business, and they started selling houses through their mail-order catalogs in 1908. These “kits” came in a boxcar in 12,000 pieces, and included a 75-page catalog that told you how all those pieces and parts went together. Sears promised that a “man of average abilities” could have the house complete and ready for occupancy in about 90 days.
Sears closed their “Modern Homes Department” in 1940, and during a corporate house cleaning, all sales records were destroyed. The only way to find these homes today is literally one by one.
I’m confident that New Bern has many more kit homes than shown below. I saw less than 30% of the town, and I went through that 30% very quickly! I’d love to return to New Bern soon and do a proper, thorough street-by-street survey.
If you enjoy the information and pictures, please share this link with friends on Facebook and/or via email!
To contact Rose (who art in Norfolk) about returning to New Bern, please leave a comment below!
To read the prior blog on New Bern, click here.
Read about The Peach House in nearby Kinston here.
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New Bern has many Aladdin kit homes. Is that due to their proximity to a large Aladdin Mill in the southern part of the state? Most likely, yes. Image is from the 1923 Aladdin catalog.
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One of my favorite finds in New Bern was the Aladdin "Hampshire" located in the heart of the historic downtown. This house was offered in the early 1920s.
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This must surely be infill, because the houses around it all date to the mid-to-late 1800s. It's a beautiful little house in wonderful condition. And it retains its original casement windows!
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Due to heavy landscaping, I had trouble getting a good shot, but you can see that little bay window poking up from the bushes, and the small fixed sashes flanking the fireplace. It's a thrill to see a 90-year-old house in original condition.
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What a cutie! The house in New Bern is "flipped" (the mirror image).
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The Aladdin Plaza was another very popular house for Aladdin (1919).
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Is this an Aladdin Plaza? Given its proximity (near other Aladdins within Ghent), I'd say it's likely.
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The Pomona was one of Aladdin's most popular homes. I saw two of these in New Bern, and neglected to capture the address of the second one. The first one (in Ghent) is shown below.
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It's a terrible picture, but it shows a piece of the Aladdin Pomona in New Bern's Historic Ghent neighborhood, on Spencer Avenue. It's definitely a Pomona, but has endured a great deal of remodeling. The front porch is 100% enclosed.
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The Aladdin "Cape Cod" (1923) was another popular kit home.
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Did someone order an Aladdin Cape Cod from the Wilmington Mill and say, "Supersize Me"? It is a nice match to the Aladdin, but it's much too wide. It's likely that this is a pattern-book house, but I haven't been able to find a corresponding match in my collection of early 1900s pattern books. More than 30% of kit homes were customized, so it's possible this was ordered "extra large" from the Aladdin mill.
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Gordon Van Tine, like Sears and Aladdin, also sold kit homes through a mail-order catalog. Shown here is the GVT "Roberts"(also known as the #560).
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And here's a near-perfect Roberts I found on Rhem Avenue.
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Within New Bern, I found two of these Gordon Van Tine homes, but neglected to make a note of the address. The porch on this house and those clipped gables are what first catch your eye. If you find this missing "Mt. Vernon," please give me an address (and a photo)!
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And now Sears. The Sears catalog identified the "Osborn" as a bungalow "from the Golden West." It's distinctive and easy to pick out in a crowd (1921 catalog).
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It's had some remodeling, but it's very likely that this house on Spencer Avenue is the real deal: A Sears Osborn. Check out the tapered chimney, rafter tails and detailing on the porch railing.
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The Sears Roanoke is another distinctive Sears house (1921).
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That side entry (originally with a pergola) is a unique feature of the Roanoke, as is the wooden awning and symmetry on the home's front. It's so lovely to see that awning still in place. And look to the left. What's that next door?
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Is that a Sears Chelsea? Hmmm...
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Boy oh boy, it's hard to know for sure. In that the "Chelsea" (also known as #111) in New Bern was built without a basement, that side with the staircase bay is not going to have a doorway under it (as shown here). I'd have to see this house up close and personal to make a positive ID. For now, I'd say it's a "definite maybe."
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Just down the street from the Roanoke and Chelsea is something that looks a lot like a Sears Saratoga.
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Is this a Sears Saratoga? The Saratoga is 30 feet across the front. This house in New Bern looks much wider than that. Again, was it supersized? It's another house that is a "definite possibility." I'd need to see the interior to make a proper judgement. It certainly is a good match in many other ways.
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The majestic Milton (1918 catalog).
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What a glorious house, and it's in such beautiful condition!
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And just across the street from the Milton is Modern Home #178. It's the ONLY #178 I've seen in my many years of traveling (25 states and 200 cities).
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What fun to scratch one more house off my "never seen this model" list! And right in New Bern, North Carolina.
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The Lynnhaven is a tricky model to identify authoritatively because it had so many "kissing cousins" that looked very similar. The position of the shed dormer and the depth of that front-facing gable are good clues for this model.
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Is this the Real Deal? Might be. It looks like a good match.
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Last but not least is the sweet little "Starlight" (1921).
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Forlorn and forgotten, it sits next door to the RollerLand Skating Rink in the 3500-block of Neuse Blvd. Stay strong, little Starlight. Perhaps help is coming. Either that, or you'll be eaten by Kudzu soon, and it'll all be over.
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If you enjoy the pretty pictures, please share this link with friends on Facebook and/or via email!
To contact Rose (who art in Norfolk) about returning to New Bern, please leave a comment below!
To read the prior blog I did on New Bern, click here.
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Wow, those are some pretty homes!
So did Wayne get to see anything he wanted to see, like some trains?
Hi, i just saw a house on Dale Wolicki’s site, the GVT Briston in Laporte, Indiana. I know the present owner, so I turned him on to your site.
I love old houses!
THANKS SO MUCH!
Lynn Apgar
Hey Rose-
I live in one of the houses pictured in this post!
Our community association posted a link on our Facebook page. If you decided to venture down here again, I’d love to have you take a look and see if you think it’s a Sears house.
We love our house and don’t know a ton about it so finding out more would be fantastic.
Have a great day!
Emily
Lots of pre-kit homes in LaPorte, Indiana. Always one of my favorite stops on my way west while taking the back roads instead of I-94.
We lived in a house on Avenue B in New Bern for several years and always thought it may be a Sears kit house.
We were never completely sure and didn’t know how to go about finding out.
The house next door was almost the same floor plan also.
This article was very interesting!
@Dale Wolicki
Dale, we stopped in at the Fireman’s Museum in downtown New Bern, and both Wayne and I thoroughly enjoyed that! 😀
Rose–
What good eyes you have, and a quick wit, and enthusiasm!
And you write so well, and your kit house discoveries here in North Carolina are much welcomed.
Thanks so much, Ruth. I was starting to worry that folks in New Bern and Kinston North Carolina weren’t all that excited about my discoveries!
The blog on that GORGEOUS “Peach House” got more than 1,200 hits, but the blog on Kinston hasn’t broken 60 hits after two days!
Thanks very much for your kind words. It means the world to me.
Rosemary
@Emily Genest
Emily, which house do you live in? (The writer in me yearns to ask, “In which house do you live,” but that sounds so stilted!)
@Sears Homes
Now THAT’S what I call a honeymoon! I would love a honeymoon finding kit homes and visiting fire stations.
Now – to find a man to tolerate that! LOL
I live in Durand, Michigan, and I just purchase what I believe to be a 1920s Starlight home.
After doing research online and reading your articles, I’ve come to realize that this town probably has many “Honor Bilt” Sears Homes and houses from Aladdin Homes. Being a huge railroad town, I’m a believer that most of these homes are catalog homes.
It’s a shame that our town has no historic society. I watch house after house get destroyed by renters or new owners, many of whom have no interest in the home’s historic importance and value.
If you ever come to this area, please check out these houses while there’s still some beauty left to be seen.
Hello, I found your page on Ghent and am interested in having you back to our neighborhood. I’m on the board of our neighborhood association and we have begun fantasizing about hosting our own historic homes tour featuring the Sears kit homes. Your page is very helpful! Please be in touch.
How exciting! I am a resident of Ghent in New Bern, NC and believe we live in a kit home. Aladdin’s “The Plaza”, I believe my neighbor lives in Aladdin’s “The Oakley”.
I am interested in having you back as well.