219 9th Ave - Sears "Rodessa"

Built in 1925, this is the Sears kit house The Rodessa. The clipped gable roof and the front porch are trademarks of the Sears Rodessa.

This model was used to show the advantages of pre-cut homes. In late 1918, Sears conducted a “race” to build two identical homes using the Rodessa bungalow plan. The precut kit took 352 hours of working time to complete, the traditional hand saw method took 583.5 hours of working time. In the traditional way, the hand saw is to blame. Electric saws did not come into widespread use until 1925.

What is interesting about the Rodessa, is that it started out with only one floor plan. It soon changed into two. From 1919 until 1922, the floor plan included a bathroom, but in 1923, Sears started offering a floor plan without a bathroom. This option was only offered from 1923 to 1929.

Note the picture from 1950. The porch had been screened in. Now it has been restored to its original grandeur.