Hello Friends,
I have been in woodworking for the most of my life and have helped to construct homes similar to the ones you all describe and I applaud your interest and determination in finding out the information you are seeking. Since I wasn't born till 1935, I wasn't around when those homes were built but have many hours in renovating some of them but still keeping the original design. Your diligence will pay off one of these days.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones

Hi Bob,

I am not sure how small or large your town is, but I found my exact building dates by reading the newspaper archives. I knew who the original owners were, so that was helpful in finding this information. If you don't have that you can get it from old tax rolls. Our local paper had columns updating everyone about the village happenings. This column gave updates on the building of my house--when and who poured the concrete for the basement, who built it, when the plaster was being done, etc. It was quite fun to read! The last report on the house status said it was a "cute modern home" and I have to agree :-)

Good luck on your search!
Carrie

Carrie,

That's a good idea, I will have to try the archives of my local newspaper.
I have been told by the county that tax records don't go back that far, but I still haven't checked with the borough.

Bob

Hi Bob,

I was told that the village tax rolls didn't go back that far either, but I was able to find them at our state historical society. Hopefully you are able to find them at the state level.

Does your house have an additional room out the opposite corner from your front entrance? It looks similar to two houses in my town (one brick and one not), both of which have one first floor room in addition to those shown in the Lynnhaven/Dawn/Crestline plan. I know that I saw yet one more plan similar to the Lynnhaven somewhere... I think it was called the Fremont, but I can't remember who provided the plan. I am digging thru my stacks of old house plans that I've copied and printed and if I find it I will post it.

These treasure hunts are fun! Hopefully I can find that plan!

Carrie

Carrie,

I finally visited my Borough Hall, I guess it was just too close, and they had no information going back further than the 60s. But, there is a Borough History Commission which may be of help, I should be hearing from them soon.

I just contacted the Montgomery County Historical Society. They have all the Montgomery County tax records thru 1933. Since I know that my house was built by 1933, this may be the ultimate resolution as to when my home was actually constructed. In addition they provided me with a link to a local newspaper with online searchable information from the mid 1800s through the mid 1930s.

Our house did not have an additional room out the opposite corner from our front entrance. We added a 1st floor family room and porch out the back of our home about 20 years ago, so it does now.

Hopefully you will be able to find that Fremont plan, it may be one of my missing links.

Thanks for reminding me of Historical Societies!
Bob

Hi Bob!

How exciting! I found the plan--I only had the first letter correct--it was the Foxcroft by Bennett Homes (as Donna thought). I actually got the plan from a post by Dale Wolicki on 6-1-06. He posted the plan on http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g79/ikcilow/img048.jpg

The plan is flipped from yours and there are 4 windows on the first floor so it probably isn't what you are looking for.

I hope you find out when (and who) built your house. Perhaps it was a custom-built home based off of one of these plans. In any case, it is beautiful!

Cheers!
Carrie

I was at the Montgomery County Historical Society today.

The only tax records available for the Third Ward of North Wales were for 1924 - 1930.
The records showed that all the lot numbers in North Wales Park near Fourth Street and Prospect Avenue were owned by the Keystone Developing Company and were still unimproved as of June 1930.

I was given microfilm of the Ambler Gazette 1929 - 1933. I chose to start with 1932 since I knew the first deed to my property was sold to Andrew Polichuck by the Keystone Developing Company on April 6, 1932.

I found the following entry in the March 17, 1932 edition:

"The Keystone Developing company, who own the new tract of paved streets and sidewalks in the east end of the Third ward and have erected two fine sample homes, are endeavoring to revive the upbuilding of the large area on Summit Hill with building operations and thus give work to the unemployed men."

Well the "and have erected two fine sample homes" was what I have been looking for.

I am now pretty sure that my home was built in late 1931 or early 1932 by the Keystone Developing Company and that they sold it pretty quickly.

Since my home was built in 1931 or 1932 the chance of it being a Sears Lynnhaven or Belmont is now back in the realm of possibility. I know that the interior measurements are a little off, but is it possible that the developer may have made some modifications to the Sears model in order for it to "show better"?


Carrie,

The Foxcroft is a nice variation on the theme. I like the side porch and breakfast room with porch in back.

Now that I know my home was built later than 1929, it opens up a whole new batch of possible plans.

Thanks,
Bob

Hi Bob,

What a great find! If I come across anymore Lynnhaven/Belmont/Foxcroft/Dwan-like plans I will post them.

Carrie

The Homebuilder's Dawn is actually a fairly different house from the Sears Lynnhaven. In Portsmouth, VA there is a stunning example of the Homebuilder Dawn and if you could it in person, you could see how different it is.

For one thing, the shape and pitch of the dormer of The Dawn is quite differing from The Lynnhaven. There are many other differences, but back to the original question...

Lack of marks on the lumber is not a deal breaker. For reasons unknown, a not insignificant number of Sears Homes do not have stamped lumber.

Donna's comments are right: Check the footprint of the house and the dimensions of the individual rooms. If they're right and the house is a good visual match to the Sears Lynnhaven, I'd say that THAT is pretty strong corroborating evidence.

Rose Thornton
author, The Houses That Sears Built

Rosemary mentioned the pitch of the dormer on The Dawn.
That got me looking at that aspect of all the pictures on all the plans that I have collected as possibilities. None of them have a pitch as steep as my home. The line where the dormer meets the roof on my home is considerably higher then where the front projection meets the roof. I have included a very old digital photo showing the dormer.



Although every aspect of the Lynnhaven's floorplan is identical to my home's and the footprint is the same, the subtle differences in room dimensions and the differences in the dormer and front projection make me believe my home is not a Sears Lynnhaven, darn.

However, I will continue to search for the plans and an exact build date.

Bob