Readers respond to Mystery House #8
Mail Order House?
Your house is similar to The Maytown, a Sears house available from 1911-1922. There are a few differences, but since legend says your house is a Sears and since plans were often changed because homeowners were given such options, your house could very well be this one. This info came from Houses by Mail : A Guide to Houses from Sears, Roebuck and Company by Katherine Cole Stevenson and H. Ward Jandl. Great book on Sears homes. Check the land records of your county. On the public record for my house, the architect listed is Sears.
From TJ:
This house could have been Sears Modern Home Plan No. 188 sold in 1913. The house could have been modified.
From Gerald:
The house in question has been referred to as a "possible" Sears Mail-order home.....?????? I believe the mail-order part is correct, but would suggest the possibility of it being a mail-order home offered for sale by the T. Eaton Company in Canada .... What are your thoughts??
From Dale Patrick:
Mystery House #8 is not an pre-cut house from the Aladdin Homes Company, or Lewis-Liberty Homes or Sterling Homes, all of which were located in Bay City, Michigan. Looking through my collection of old catalogs (my family worked for all three companies at one time or another) I could not match the mystery house to any of their pre-cut house models. Many companies, however, would provide "customized" designs for an additional charge.
Good luck and I hope someone can provide additonal information.
From Jackie Craven:
For a sampling of mail order houses, see our collection of Bungalow Floor Plans and Foursquare Floor Plans.
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