Help All! Where do I start?!? I'm so excited!! I have been a visitor to this forum for over a yr but wanted to do as much research as I could on the house before I posted. We live north of Boston in a town called Chelmsford right in the center of town.
After buying many kit home books, I have only found ONE house that resembles our Dutch Colonial and its from the 1922 Aladdin catalog pgs 16 and 17. But I'm not convinced that is an Aladdin. The front door area looks different and we have an extra chimney in the middle of the house for heat but other than that, its a unique floor plan and its the only one I've found. I've been in contact with some previous owners, so I know that our sun parlor (the porch on the left) had the roof elevated due to water damage...but here are the facts:
Built: 1925/26 (Deed said 1912 but with the help of the town historic commission and town records, 1925 is the date that has been verified)
Why a kit?: Neighbors remember being told about the house arriving by rail, and I have found numbers and writing on the lumber indicating the house was assembled- 12-0 in the attic, 16-0 in the basement, 7-6 in a bedroom and in the sun parlor roof there is stamping that says, "Sun Parlor Roof Flooring"...the numbers are stenciled in black and there is also blue crayon writing on a lot of boards.
Does this numbering seem familiar to anyone else? I haven't seen any other kit homes with this type of numbering (no letters) and I know that there were many kit home builders. I'm just very selfishly hopeful that this home was from one of the big ones
MANY MANY Thanks to those who respond! I am so eager to hear from you all!!! I hope my pix of the house comes through.
Jen
PS/Due to my work, the historic commission in my town is now wondering about a part of town that has many bungalow type of homes that might be kit homes. A plaque is going to be affixed to our home (not identifying as a kit just the year and original owner) but they said they'd be interested in the possibility of identifying these homes and preserving them. After reading Ralph Jone's heartbreaking post in November, this gives me hope!!

Your house sure looks like the Standard "Hamilton" which is not a kit.


You can see the floor plan here: Hamilton Dutch Colonial

Lauren

Yes! You are right. But the floor plan is inconsistent with what we have which I have learned is quite unique. The only one I've seen that is exactly what we have is the Aladdin "The Amsterdam"

Are the room and exterior measurements identical to those of the Amsterdam?

Some manufacturers would make customer-requested modifications to their plans. However, I don't see anything in Aladdin's catalog to suggest they made the types of changes Sears did, for example.

Also, though the plan is similar to the Aladdin plan, it's also possible that it was manufactured and shipped as materials, not a kit. Or manufactured by a much smaller company. They all "borrowed" from each other with abandon.

The assertive symmetry of your home's façade is unusual. There just aren't that many DCR's with the upper and lower mirror-arranged windows. I'm not saying it isn't a kit, just that all evidence isn't in yet.

Rikki

Rikki-
Thanks for your input! What is a DCR and what do you mean by assertive symmetry?

I was pretty sure it was a kit home b/c of the neighbors and the word of mouth "Robert ordered the home and it came by rail" as well as finding the numbers throughout the house and even the lettering in the sun parlor roof flooring...but that's why I'm here!

I am not convinced that this home is the Aladdin "Amsterdam"....the numbers aren't like what I've read an Aladdin to be and although all the room measurements are very close, they aren't exact. But the floor plan goes from stud to stud and not horse hair/wall to wall it could easily be the 4" off that we found...I know that Rosemary had mentioned for Sears homes that if it was off even a little it was a deal breaker, but the plans on-ine are from stud to stud. The only thing that is different is that we have a closet in the front hall and our front hall is bigger. I know many companies inter-changed them, so I was hoping to see if anyone had a knowledge of another similar home. Does anyone know of homes with writing such as ours that would not be a kit home? The original owner's family owned a local lumber company so I always thought that it was strange that he "ordered" a home.
Jen

Jen,

DCR= Dutch Colonial Revival

I think that if you look for the Dutch Colonials on our site(Dutch Colonial Search) you'll see that most are asymmetrical.

Lauren

Jen --

Since the original owner was in the lumber business, maybe he tried his hand at the kit home business?

There were very small lumber dealers who got into the business for a short time. What was his name? Have you researched his lumber business? Could he have been affiliated with a small regional manufacturer?

There might be information about him or his business at the local historical society.

Rikki

Thanks for the direction and thought with that Rikki. I didn't think about that angle. Unfortunately the company- Lowell Lumber Co on Congress St in Lowell MA is no longer. (Lowell is the next town over from ours) The family has lived in town for a long time, however the builder- (Robert Rusell) immediate family has all passed. There is a niece but she was very small at the time and remembered coming to the house only once or twice. I'll put a call into her and see what she may know about the family business or be able to point me in the right direction in that regards...as well as check out the internet.

What you are saying is that maybe Lowell Lumber built this house versus him ordering it? Would there be the identifying marks, (lettering & numbers) if it was not a kit home? The neighbors said he ordered it and I am thinking that if Lowell Lumber built it they would have known, since thats where everyone went to get their lumber in these parts back in the day. But an interesting angle nonetheless!

How mysterious this all is. I'm sure Robert Russell never imagined someone would be trying to attain all this information on a house he had built 85 yrs ago

Jen

Jen -

Your house could be a kit. We don't have a plan, but someone like Dale Wolicki or Rosemary Thornton could wander through the forum, identify your house and your mystery would be solved.

The marks and stamps on the wood are a form of communication. Robert Russell would have understood what they were and what they were intended to communicate.

We know that kit home manufacturing reached its zenith during the 1920s and faded away during the Depression. Most of the small regional companies died out during the Depression. Sears was gone by 1940, and the ones that did survive WWII were gone by the 70s. Experts estimate that only about a half million kit homes were bought and built. No one knows because there really isn't much documentation left on them and so many have been destroyed.

Regardless of whether your home proves to be a kit house or a Robert Russell project, it's worth working with your local historical society and city zoning board to protect nice old neighborhoods and houses in Chelmsford.

Have fun during this investigation though. It's quite the adventure.

Rikki

I have TREMENDOUS NEWS!!! Clarke Historical Library just called. I've been emailing them about my home. They FOUND THE BILL OF SALE to Robert Russell on our home. It is indeed the above "Amsterdam"....they are mailing me a copy of the bill of sale. AND, (another coup) the house was ordered in Aug 1925, and had customized specifications that Russell requested. They also have the original color (green semi-slate) and plan for the house. HOW LUCKY!! 15 months of research and I am finally able to say 100% what (it is) and when (it was built) with the house.

Thank you all for your imput! I must say, I did have my doubts and reservations regarding whether or not it was an Aladdin, one of them being the fact that the numbering is different from what they typically are.

Are there any other Aladdin home owners out there??

Jen

Dang, Jen. How cool is all this?! Congratulations! All your research paid off.!

Donna

I absolutely love it when a home's identity is verified!

I too continued on my search until Dale Wolicke happened by a forum and saw my quest years back He sent me everything he had on hand about my 1912 GVT plan house.

Thanks to all you research experts visiting the websites, thanks for taking those extra steps.

I'm excited for you - Congrats Jen!

Jen --

That is so totally cool! Looks like your intuition about the house was right on the mark. Congratulations!!!!! Talk about winning the kit home lottery!

Maybe you need to check with Clarke to see if there were other kits ordered for your neighborhood too?

What a testament to the value and quality of an Aladdin kit house ... even lumber dealers wanted them!

Rikki

Hi All-

Yes- I've got an email into Clarke Historial Society regarding if there are anymore Aladdin homes in Chelmsford. When they had contacted me initially, they had said they needed the year and name of the original owner since that was how their filing was done. But nonetheless, I've asked! And since I'm on a roll with the house, I thought I'd ask about the garage....pretty sure that's not a kit, but I've learned it certainly doesn't hurt to inquire.

I've received a copy of the bill of sale and its given me some clues. It did have cedar shingles on the 2nd story, but siding for the first. Like the idea of the shingles, think I'll bag the siding. Has anyone seen a DCR that they really liked the color scheme for? I had planned on painting the house yellow with white trim and green shutters. Now I'm not so sure and may go back to the original ?! Also, know a shutter company that they could recommend? If you notice the picture of the Amsterdam, the shutters are different than your traditionl.

Also, has anyone seen or heard of Shingles called SEMI-SLATE? I've read some references to them in either red or green but was hoping to see a picture some where.

Oh and here was a super nice surprise- Our home is the first documented kit home in town. Along with a sign for the home, (Robert Russell House 1925) the historical commission mentioned having a press release about the house. So it looks like we're going to have to get busy fixing up the outside! We've just been concentrating on the inside, but now that I know what it looks like- onward and upward.

Oh and I feel that I must mention this since I just re-read what I had earlier posted and to my chagrin noticed a mistake. It was RUSSELL Lumber not Lowell Lumber as I had mentioned previously. Sorry- I knew that!

Thanks ALL to your input! If you have any more ideas or recommendations even on books I'd love to hear them. MANY THANKS!

Jen

Good to know the Clarke Historical Library was able to confirm your house was an Amsterdam.

The original Aladdin Amsterdam used for the catalog illustration still stands in Bay City unaltered and in original condition. I'll get a picture of the house online here when I find my slides.

Its surprising the owner of a lumber company built a pre-cut house. The "National Retail Lumber Dealers Association" was Aladdin's biggest critic and adversary. Local lumbermen hated pre-cut homes becasue it took sales away from them.

I suspect the Boston area has a good collection of pre-cut kit homes as there are many references to them in catalogs from Aladdin, Sears and Montgomery Ward.

Wolicki-
That's wonderful!!! I had no idea that there was the Amsterdam in Bay City. I can't wait to see it. I guess that the owners are aware that they live in the Aladdin kit? Is there some kind of association in Bay City that the owners are all members of? Such rich history I'm sure that they'd want to preserve?!?
I'll look daily for those pix!!!

So, Dale, it has been generally accepted that Aladdin did not stencil their lumber, just marked it with pencil. Given what we now know from this thread can we assume that at least in 1925 and beyond they began that practice or perhaps was it only the one mill/factory? Are you aware of any other Aladdins with stenciled boards?

I've been looking for my Dutch Colonial, so crossed paths with you. I see you found you connection. Here is data about the numbering that I found. Tomorrow I'll prowl my basement with a flashlight- I think I have a 1929 Sears Van Jean.

http://www.wikihow.com/Identify-Kit-Homes
Has pictures. Says “not all kit homes had marked lumber! Sears used a letter and a number. Aladdin used words. Gordon Van Tine and Montgomery Ward used numbers, separated by a hyphen”


http://www.kithouse.org/
LOCATING AND IDENTIFYING MAIL ORDER HOUSE PART NUMBERS
The wooden parts of a kit house were numbered in order to facilitate construction. After the house is built, it is usually possible to see some of these numbers. Presence of part numbers constitutes proof that the house is in fact a mail order kit. The style of the numbering may be a good indicator of which company built the house. The numbers are not visible on every board, so it may take a few minutes and a good flashlight to find one. Look on basement ceiling joists, attic rafters, basement stair risers and treads, wall studs - any visible board which has not been painted.

1. SEARS part numbers are stamped on the wood in dark blue, black or gray ink. They are just over one inch high, and almost always consist of a capital letter followed by one or more numerals, for example: A159, L23, C2. The numbers are usually found near the end of a board, on the wider surface (for example, on the 4" side of a 2X4). Sears numbers after1933 may be stamped in red ink and smaller. The parts were not numbered before 1915, when Sears first produced kit homes. Model number or order number may be handwritten in grease pencil.

2. GORDON-VAN TINE/WARDS numbers are handwritten in grease pencil, usually in the middle of a board. They consist of numerals, hyphenated in groups, e.g. 17-21-19, or 3-5 digit numerals. Part names are stamped in capital letters about 1" high (e.g. "ceiling joist" "top rail"). Delivery address may be stamped or stenciled in ink.

3. ALADDIN, LEWIS and STERLING Company numbers are handwritten in grease pencil, usually in the middle of a board. They consist of numerals, usually hyphenated in groups of 2 or 3. Some of the numbers are fractions, e.g. 42-18-11 3/4. Part names may be stamped in ink.

4. HARRIS Brothers numbers are stenciled in ink, often in the middle of a board, and may be numerals alone, or numerals and letters, or Roman numerals. E.g. 76, HR 50, RI 32 or AII. Home model number and/or order number may be written in grease pencil.

5. Pacific Homes are marked in grease pencil with a 4 digit number, probably the order number, and the names of the parts.

Hi Kate, I have an Aladdin Wabash located in Smithers B.C.
Are you familiar with this site?
http://www.civilization.ca/cmc...talog/cat2104e.shtml

The reason I ask your location is that the book is focused on the west and Les Henry states in the book that no Sears homes have been ID'd in western Canada.

Have you heard of Halliday Homes, http://www.archive.org/stream/betterhomes00halluoft
From what I can tell they sold mostly if not only in the east.

I hope you post a pic of your place.

Wabash