313 S *th Ave - Sears "Ivanhoe" Kit Home

Built in 1912 for Oscar Heppe, this is an example of The Ivanhoe, a Sears Catalog home.

The Sears Ivanhoe, sold from 1911 to 1918, was a big expensive house “designed by one of Chicago’s leading architects”, according to the catalog. Only a few Sears Ivanhoe have been identified nationwide.

Sears did not sell the Ivanhoe with the lumber pre-cut at the factory. They often did this for the more elaborate homes in an effort to keep the process down.

In the early years, the Ivanhoe came with two exteriors, but the same interior. One had a two story porch off the side and simple shed dormer over the front door. The other (this house) had no side porch, but a full width front porch.

Mrs. Oscar Heppe was interviewed in 1978 about life in LaGrange. (Interview on tape at LaGrange Area Historical Society). Her mother tells of watching the contractors build the front staircase on the lawn, and seeing the stairs installed in the center hallway. Beautiful French doors opened to the living room and dining room. Book cases flank the fire place, and a built-in buffet fits nicely in the dining room niche.

Her daughter, Mary, remembers playing hide and seek in the attic and sitting on the “airing” porch upstairs on hot summer nights.