Sears Elmwood In Elkhart, Indiana

Authenticated Sears Elmwood • 901 E. Indiana Avenue, Elkhart, Indiana • c. 1912

The Elmwood, as shown in the 1914 catalog.
It was marketed as the No. 162 at that point.

Wow. This is a beautiful house, isn't it? 

I was pretty excited today when I connected this house to a lot number in the Hudson-Sterling neighborhood of Elkhart, Indiana, that I had seen mentioned in a 1914 newspaper snippet.  The house was being foreclosed on by Sears, and Sears trustee Walker O. Lewis was named in the suit against Hudson-Sterling properties.  They seem to have built a number of houses on spec, probably around 1912, or to use as rental properties, because there were a number of notices of foreclosure against them.  In this case, Sears was asking that a Receiver be put in place to be sure that rents continued to be collected, and that the property continued to be kept up.  

Here is the newspaper clipping, from the Elkhart Truth, September 8, 1914.

I don't know much about the Hudson-Sterling neighborhood, but I did find mention of there being a big whip factory there (The Sterling whip factory), built in 1908, and a big wheel company (The American Wheel Company), builit in 1909.  However, in 1915, the Sun Motor Car Company was taking over what they referred to as "the old Hudson-Sterling factory buildings" in south Elkhart... I'm wondering if that was the Sterling whip factory? Already gone out of business?

December 31, 1915, page 3 of the Bristol Banner (Bristol, Indiana).

In any case, someone built this beautiful Elmwood, mortgaging it through Sears, and was then unable to continue to pay for it.  And that's why we know about it today.

We have very few authenticated Elmwoods on our National Database of Sears Houses, so I'm excited to add this one to the list.  Another aspect that I'm happy about, is that this is one of the very few Elmwoods we've seen that retains the original design of an open sleeping porch up in that dormer. Most that we find have had that dormer enclosed, to give a nice little extra bit of interior living space.  

The Elmwood as listed in the 1914 catalog.

Here is the 1914 price for this model, for the basic version that used yellow pine for all finishes. Sears supplied almost everything, but not masonry supplies, such as brick, plaster, or cement, though they would arrange the purchase of any of those needed supplies, for you, through a local supplier. They estimated that with any of those items added in, coupled with labor costs, you could build this nice bungalow, with yellow pine finish, for about $1,660.00.

Here is the floor plan of the Sears Elmwood, as shown in my 1914 catalog. 

However, for an up-charge of $148, you could upgrade to oak finish downstairs, and birch for the second floor:

If you wanted the upgraded wood choices, you specified plan No. 264P153,  and you then would have the following wood finishes throughout the house:

 The 1911 catalog shows interior views of what your living room and dining room would look like:

Source: Arts & Crafts Society web page

Here is the living room of a home in Wheaton, Illinois, that we originally believed to be a Sears Elmwood from 1918. However, we now believe that this must be a Sunbeam, which would mean that it would date from 1922 or later. This is based on the number of steps entering into the staircase, shown in the photo below. If you look closely, you see that there are two steps entering the first section of the staircase. During the Elmwood years, there was only one step there. Sunbeam-era floor plans show two steps there. So, we think this must be an early Sunbeam. I detail these differences in this blog post, about another Elmwood, in Normal, Illinois.

224 Kellogg Place, Wheaton, Illinois • Source

Heating, plumbing, and lighting ("Acetylene Lighting Plant") were an additional cost, as well, and you had a few options there, too:

The Sunbeam

Sears eventually made a few modifications to the Elmwood model, and re-named it the Sunbeam, for the 1922 catalog. The most obvious difference, on first glance, is the enclosure of the sleeping balcony, but there were a few changes inside as well... that staircase issue, and also the placement of some doorways, and of the chimney vent.  I wrote about an authenticated Sunbeam in Orlando, Florida, a little while back, and included a comparison of the Elmwood and Sunbeam floor plans.  You can read that blog post here. In the mean time, here is a snippet from that post, showing you what the Sunbeam looked like:

Sears Sunbeam in 1925.

Please don't hesitate to contact me (through a comment or the "Contact Me" spot on the right side of the blog) if you know of an Elmwood or Sunbeam... or any kit house!

Here are two more views of our wonderful Sears Elmwood in Elkhart, Indiana:

901 E. Indiana Avenue, Elkhart, Indiana

Sears Elmhurst in Secane, Pennsylvania

Authenticated Sears Elmhurst • 827 Green Lane, Secane, Pennsylvania • circa 1932

Sears Elmhurst as shown in the 1929 brick models supplement
of the Sears Modern Homes catalog. 

Another Sears Elmhurst ! This makes number 17 on our national database of Sears homes in the U.S.  This one was shared with us by Lara Solonickne ( Sears Homes of Chicagoland ), who learned of its existence when she was contacted by the daughter of the previous owners.  

The build date given for this house, according to Delaware County, Pennsylvania Real Estate Assessor records, is 1935.  As we so often find in these tax records in Pennsylvania, that number is surely not accurate.  The Elmhurst was offered between 1929 and 1932, so it couldn't have been built in 1935. It's highly doubtful that anyone would have ordered the supplies to build their home, and then left them in storage somewhere for a few years, before building. As a general rule of thumb, in Pennsylvania (at least in Pittsburgh, anyway), if the build date given ends in a 0 or a 5 , it's likely only a rough guesstimate.

EDIT, May 19, 2021: Thanks to research in the historic mortgage records of Delaware County, by researcher Cindy Catanzaro, we have learned that this house had a mortgage through Sears. The original owner took out his mortgage in February of 1932. His name was Fernald M. Willey, who is listed in the 1940 census as an executive with a Drug company laboratory. The street, at that time, went by a different name than it does now-- Summit Ave.

This house is in the small township of Secane, Pennsylvania, in Delaware County, which, I have learned, is sometimes confused with Clifton Heights, because they share the same zip code.

This is what Lara commented on an earlier blog post of mine, about a North Carolina Elmhurst she shared with us.... and... sure enough! Another Elmhurst!  Lara blogs exclusively about the Chicago area, so she generously allowed me to present this new find. She also does walking tours, classes, and presentations on Sears Homes.

I don't have anything new to tell you about this particular Elmhurst, and I don't have history on who may have lived here and ordered it from the Sears Modern Homes catalog. But... I do have Real Estate photos to show, so we get to see the interior! 

Three pointy dormers on the side of the authenticated Sears Elmhurst in St. Louis, MO.
It was recently on the market, and went under contract almost immediately.

One thing that differs on this probable Elmhurst in Secane, Pennsylvania, is that it has an addition on the "three-dormer" side of the house.  Normally, the Elmhurst has three clearly-visible pointy dormers on one side of the house, as you see in the image above of an authenticated Elmhurst in Saint Louis, Missouri. Below, however, you see our Green Lane Elmhurst, with only two of those dormers visible, and the addition of a great office-space room on that side:

It's quite possible that all three dormers are still here, just not visible from this vantage point.
Source: Google maps street view

This appears to be the additional room, with all of those great windows.

Let's take a look at the floor plan, and then I'll show you the rest of the interior photos:

This, again, is from AntiqueHome.org's listing of the 1929 brick supplement of the Sears Modern Homes catalog.

The living room is spacious, and has a nice fireplace, complete with a fireplace surround and mantel straight from the 1929 Building Materials Sears catalog:

Source: Archive.org's upload of the 1929 Sears Building Supplies catalog.

Here is the same Sears colonial fireplace surround, unpainted, in the authenticated Elmhurst in the St. Louis area, also shown above.  Beautiful interior photos are available here, from its recent listing.

In the living room, you can also see, to the left of the fireplace, some built-in bookshelf cabinets, with a leaded-glass design front offered by Sears.  We've seen this in a number of Sears homes, such as this Arlington, in Pittsburgh, PA, and this Ivanhoe/No. 200 in Normal, Illinois:

This is a lovely house, so let me get right to showing you the rest of the house.  All of these photos came from the Realtor.com listing, here. 

First, here is the floor plan again:

And, now, more interior photos (click on any photo, to enlarge it):

This is "the" Elmhurst photo we always see,
showing the standard wrought-iron stair railing, next to the curved-top door.

 Beautiful hardwood floors throughout the entire house, with spacious bedrooms:

The tile work in this bathroom was also, it seems, the standard tile work design for the Elmhurst, as we have seen it (or a version of it, always in black and white) in other Elmhurst models, such as in this authenticated Elmhurst presented by Lara Solonickne... in the town of Elmhurst, in fact.  

Here is the bathroom of our Elmhurst on Green Lane.

And here are two other Elmhurst bathrooms -- the one, at top, in Elmhurst, Illinois, and the bottom one, from an Elmhurst in Reidsville, North Carolina (that you can read about here.)

We're excited to find this latest Elmhurst! As always, if you know of another Elmhurst, or any home you suspect to be a kit house, please tell me about using the "Contact Me" feature on the right side of the blog (be sure to leave me an email address, or give me as precise an address for the house as possible).

827 Green Lane, Secane, Pennsylvania

Sears Saratoga In Fairmont West Virginia

Sears Saratoga • c 1914 • 1617 Edgeway Drive, Fairmont, West Virginia

Sears Saratoga, 1916 Sears Modern Homes catalog
Source: Daily Bungalow, used with permission

It is not every day that we run across this model, so we're certainly excited when we do. This looks to be an example of the Sears Saratoga, first offered as the No. 108 and No. 146, depending on the year. Some years showed it with a little side entry, as you can see in the 1916 catalog image to the right, as well as on the house in Fairmont. Earliest years show the Saratoga with a wraparound front porch, but later years do not show that. Our house here in Fairmont, West Virginia, does not have a wraparound front porch.  Also, look at the decorative element on the top of the porch columns... perfect match, for either version!

There are two obvious differences between the earliest version of this model (the No. 146), and the later version (the No. 108, or Saratoga): the existence (or not) of a wraparound porch, and also, the existence (or not) of a small entry hall as you enter the front of the house.  The earlier model (No. 146) has a small entry hall leading to the stairs, and the living room is to the left. You go through a big opening to get into the living room.  However, in the later model (No. 108 or Saratoga), you go right in to the living room, and there is no wall on the side, separating the entry area from the rest of the living room. Take a look at these floor plans from 1914 and 1916:

Here is the Saratoga's floor plan as shown in my 1914 catalog, as No. 264P146.  That year, a wraparound front porch is shown, and there is a separated entry-hall space when you enter the front of the house.

Here is the floor plan of the Saratoga as it was shown in the 1916 catalog, as No. 264P108.  You can see that the front porch spans the front of the house, but does not wrap around to the left side, and that the entry-hall area is gone now, and you walk right in to the living room. (Source: Daily Bungalow)

As you can see from this front view, the Fairmont, West Virginia house does not have a wraparound porch.  You can see the matching window arrangement: two pairs of double windows above, and two pairs of double windows below, on the porch, with the entry door to the side, just as shown on the catalog images.  You can also see the dining room bump-out on the left side, which has four windows:

A perfect match for the Sears Saratoga!

The catalogs devote several pages to views of the interior of a Saratoga, and to millwork, windows, and built-ins that were part of the Saratoga package.  See that wonderful window set up in the front gable? That is shown in the catalog.  Let's take a closer look:

Another image from the MLS listing, as shown on Zillow

The real estate listing shows a photo of the somewhat crowded living room, but it's enough to show that the Saratoga's built-in buffet is right there:

You can see the leaded-glass design of the built-in buffet cabinet, just as shown in the 1914 catalog.

Above the buffet, you can see the art-glass window, just as it is shown in the catalog:

From what you can see of this view of the living room and stairs, it looks like our Fairmont Saratoga matches the catalog's depiction of the interior of a Saratoga. You can see how the millwork and wall moulding matches the dining room walls, and the living room, even the trace design on the ceiling:

The Saratoga's interior as shown in my 1914 catalog.  You can see that there is a separation (on the right) between the living room and the entry-hall area. Also, see that ceiling design above the fireplace? Notice how that is visible also in the Fairmont, West Virginia house, below.

You can tell that this is the post-1914 No. 108, and not the No. 146, because there is no wall creating an entry way.  The living room is open right up to the staircase. Also, there is a door to the kitchen, to the right of the fireplace. That, too, is shown on the post-1914 floor plan, but not on the 1914 and earlier floor plans.  So... this house is listed on the county assessor's website with a build year of 1914, but it most likely was built at least a year later. Sometimes build years are really more indicative of when the lot was purchased.

There's even a sort-of-matching garage!

Let's take one last look at the exterior... you can just about make out the left-side bump-out windows for the dining room:

1617 Edgeway Drive, Fairmont, West Virginia • Sears Saratoga

In most instances, we make a point to note that a house that we have just seen in a drive-by or via a real estate listing, is not an authenticated model.  This house in Fairmont, though not authenticated via mortgage records or shipping labels, can be considered authenticated through the presence in the interior of numerous millwork, window,  and decorative pieces exclusive to the Sears catalog, and offered as part of the Saratoga's package. What an exciting find this was for me today!