Driving around Kinston, I found one elusive house that I couldn’t “match,” and yet I knew I’d seen it somewhere. I took several photos of the house and decided to figure it out later.
Through the years, I have learned that when a house beckons me, I need to pay attention.
Back home, I still hadn’t figured it out, I asked Rachel if it rang any bells for her. Last night, she sent me a note with a little smiley face that said, “Look in your Wardway book.”
Rachel had found my mystery house in my book, or more accurately, the book that Dale Wolicki and I co-authored, “Montgomery Ward’s Mail-Order Homes.”
I hastily grabbed my copy off the shelf and sure enough, there it was, right on page 188. Gosh, that’s a good book! š
To learn more about Wardway Homes, click here.
Read more about the kit homes of Kinston here.
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This little cutie in Kinston beckoned me, but I didn't immediately recognize it.
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The fact that it's been turned into a duplex didn't help.
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I asked Rachel for her help, and she suggested I look in my book...
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Lo and behold, there it was on page 188, smiling back at me...
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The house also appeared in the early 1910s Wardway catalogs (1916 shown here).
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Sure looks a lot like it!
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But the roofline looks a little different. Even zooming in on the catalog image, you can't see the details. It appears to be a "broken roof" (different elevation than the main roof), but it does not look like the porch roof tucks under the main roof (as it does on the Kinston house). What IS interesting is that closet window on the 2nd floor.
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The floorplan shows that to be a closet window tucked in under those eaves. On the line drawing (catalog image), it is a full-size window. In the Kinston house, it is a closet window. Pretty interesting.
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The house is surprisingly large - with almost 1,800 square feet of living area. The first floor has a butler's pantry! Looking at this floorplan, you can see how easy it would be to add an exterior staircase on that right side (as has happened with the house in Kinston).
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Just like this...
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Is this cutie in Kinston a Wardway #139? Sure looks like it could be.
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To learn more about Wardway Homes, click here.
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Serendipity. š
I knew it was familiar too. I just happened to look in that awesome and very organized book last night to see if there was an example of a Wardway Whitmore and there it was, #139, *hiding right by the biscuits*.
I literally laughed out loud!
Rosemary, you are going to be the expert in all other kits homes before long!
ARGH!!!!!! Yet again you have ruined my theory that no one ever built a Wardway #139!
Hello, am purchasing a lake property with a 12 X 24 cabin said to be a Montgomery Wards cabin. I think the siding might be asbestos, from the 1940s.
I also suspect that the cabin was sold and moved to a second location. Can you shed any light on this?
Inside, the house has a small kitchen area, where there once was a pot-belly stove and no plumbing.
Any tips on how to research this would be helpful.
Thanks!
Sheila