I am presently looking seriously at buying a home I was told is a Mongomery Ward Kit Home, and that was built in 1919. I am a newbie at this whole concept, but I'm finding it exciting to think about this home, nearly 100 years old, as part of the history of my community. However, I am unable to find any information about this anywhere. I am turning to this community and hoping you can help. I am attaching a picture of the front of the house, as it is at present. Thanks for any info anyone can add!

I've looked in the Wardway book and a number of other kit home catalogs without finding a house similar to yours.

That of course doesn't mean that it isn't a kit home, though it seems equally possible that it may have been altered. The bellcast flair of the eaves is pretty distinctive.

Usually there are markings on beams and joists so the attic and basement are usually good places to look. It doesn't look like you have a basement, but there might be something in an attic storage space.

Do you have any other images from different angles? It looks like a tidy little place.

R.

Dale and I are busily finishing up a new book - a field guide to Montgomery Ward kit homes. Your house, while quite an interesting piece of architecture, does not ring any bells as a Montgomery Ward Home.

It's certainly possible that the building materials in your home were ordered from Montgomery Ward and perhaps that's where the "Ward's Kit House" story had its origins.

Rose

It doesn't look like any Wards homes in the
Wardway Homes catalog I bought from Dover Publications.However there were many suppliers of Kit Homes,even a few in Texas like the L.E.Crain Company of Houston.

rosemary,can't wait to see the book you and Dale are working on.Wish someone would reprint
catalogs by International Mill and Timber,maker of Sterling Homes,and also the Liberty-Lewis Homes.I once owned a Louis Bossert Book of kit houses,wish I hadn't sold it.

Hilda --

Welcome. I've been looking for the Bossert and Crain books for a while now without luck, so I can just imagine your chagrin. ;-)

We just acquired a copy of the 1916 Sterling book and the 1920 Fenner Manufacturing Ready Built Homes books and will be publishing houses from both in the not too distant future. I just finished scanning the Fenner book and have the Sterling book about 1/3 finished.

Rikki

Hey Rikki that's great. Yeah,If I had that Bossert book I'd make you a copy of it.
Wish I could find one again. I may try to look at the Library of Congress for the crain and Bossert books.
Cabin Creek CDs,has on cd some of the Montgomery Wards and Sears Roebuck house plan catalogs.They also have one from the Garlinghouse Company who are still in business,though as far as I know,they didn't make kit houses,though it might be fun to write them and ask.Thought of asking them if they would let Dover Publications reprint any of their early bungalow plan books.

Whenever you get around to publishing those catalogs,let me know.I would like to buy a copy.

The Sterling book is interesting because it seems to be ahead of the design curve compared with some of the other companies. For example, they have several houses that though I know they were built in the teens, I tend to associate with the 1920s. There is a particularly wonderful Tudor that was available in sections so you could add on as your finances allowed. Way cool.

Another feature of the Sterling book is their offer of 50% down and they would carry the rest for a two year contract ... I think it worked out to about 1%. Can you imagine?

R.

A book about Sterling Homes and Lewis-Liberty is in the distant future for the Bay County Historical Society, Bay City, Michigan, which is where Sterling, Lewis-Liberty, and Aladdin.

Sterling Homes introduced mortgages to the pre-cut housing industry in 1915. Sears introduced their mortgage plan a few years later. Montgomery-Ward did not offer their mortgage plan until 1927.

Just a note, Sterling Homes mortgage program was very sucessful and brought lots of orders to the company, but as customers with good credit became fewer and fewer Sterling lowered their standards. When the economy entered a recession in 1921 Sterling found itself having to reposse homes it had fiananced. They quickly discovered local judges resistant to evicting homeowners who lived and voted in their district. The mortgage plan and other financial troubles forced Sterling Homes into bankruptcy in 1922. When the reorganized company resumed operations they continued to offer mortgages but their standards were much more strict.

Interesting how history seems to be repeating itself in the mortgage business...

Lauren

Dale --

Thanks for answering that question about the mortgages. Lauren and I were discussing the Sterling terms the other day and wondering if they were the first to offer such generous terms. It didn't seem possible for that to continue.

Rikki

Sterling Homes mortgage plan biggest problem was that it did not require that the homebuilder own the lot free and clear. When Sterling tried to foreclose on the house the local bank with the mortgage on the lot was typically already in foreclosure. The local banks fought Sterling Homes in local courts arguing that the house was a fixture on their property and they had first rights. Thats why Sears and Montgomery-Ward required homebuilders who wanted a mortgage to own the lot.

Thanks for the info Wolicki.I ought to check out their website.I can't wait to the Sterling and Lewis Liberty homes books get published.

Don't know if there are any Sterling Homes around here.
In Springbranch,Tx,there is a house made of limestone,the design of which looks like it came from one of the Radford Company plan books.It even has a Texas historical plaque on the house.
And near Gonzales,is a house that looks like it was either a Sears kit house,or built from the same Radford design,which Sears copied.

That's why I can't wait for the books to come out.So i can take some little weekend trips to Seguin and some of the surrounding towns and see if I might spot some of these houses.

You know what,maybe it was originally built as a summer home.I say this because the siding bothers me.It reminds me of log siding.Maybe they used logs split in half for the siding.It just has that look to me.