Sweet Home, Alabama (Sears Magnolia)

Sometime in 2005, the new owner of the Sears Magnolia in Piedmont, Alabama sent me several dozen photos of the house. Recently, I rediscovered the CDs. Those photos reminded me that I also had a 1984 newspaper article about that Magnolia. Unfortunately, I do not have...

A Tale of Two Maggies

Sometime in the late 1910s, someone in Lincoln, Nebraska sat down with a specialty catalog from Sears & Roebuck and ordered a kit house called, “The Magnolia.” It was the grandest kit home that Sears offered, with almost 3,000 square feet, 2-1/2 baths,...

Is it Really a Magnolia?

For years, it’s been widely believed that only six Sears Magnolia kit homes were built in the country. Six. They’re located in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Alabama, North Carolina, and Ohio. There was a Magnolia in Nebraska, but it burned down many years ago....