Catalog Homes Delivered to LaGrange

This is a tour of precut/kit homes in the LaGrang Area. Precut/kit homes were an affordable option for homebuyers in the early 1900s. This tour included 12 homes made by Sears, Sterling, Harris Brothers and Grodon-Van Tine.

History of Precut Kit Homes

Prior to 1900, plan books showing designs for residences evolved. This gave home builders an alternative to hiring an architect to design a house. William Radford of Chicago was one successful publisher of plan books, selling plans by mail from 1890 to 1930 for a fraction of the cost of architect-drawn plans. Soon after the turn of the century, a number of suppliers of building materials also began offering building plans.

The Evolution of Precut Homes
Precut home marketers went one step further. All the structural lumber was cut to size and shipped to the buyer along with the plans.

The first company to produce kit homes was Aladdin. The company's founder saw a kit to make a boat, and realized that the same principals could be applied to building a home. Working with a Bay City, Michigan lumber yard, he formed the Aladdin Company and began marketing these homes. Other manufacturers soon joined in.

Precut houses were usually not distinctive architectural designs, but copies of the most popular styles of the day. These well designed, practical homes were made of top quality materials, using the same technologies as other builders.

Power tools were not available on the jobsite, so all wood was cut by hand. However, power saws were used in the mill where kit homes were made.

Manufacturers claimed the precut system would save the builder up to 30% compared to the cost of standard building methods. Lumber and hardware were purchased in bulk. House designs were standardized to reduce waste in materials, but customers were encouraged to personalize their order by moving windows or doors, adding porches, fireplaces, sun- rooms, window boxes, trellises, and by selecting exterior finish and colors.

Precut housing thrived until after World War II, when changes in tract housing construction methods started. Prefabricated mobile homes also became very popular. Precut housing companies could not compete financially anymore.

How the House was Shipped

The structural elements were cut to exact size at the mill and shipped to the customer by rail. Parts for a typical home filled two boxcars, and included approximately 10,000 numbered pieces of lumber, kegs of nails and other hardware, roofing tar, shingles, paint varnish, and blue- prints and instruct- ions on how to assemble the house.

Costs of a finished house, including the lot, foundation and construction labor usually was double the list price of the kit house. Heating, plumbing and electrical systems were available at additional costs as were built-in cabinets.

Brief History of Major Companies in the Midwest.

Aladdin, Lewis-Liberty and Sterling, Bay City Michigan (1900-1973)

Aladdin was one of the first companies in the early 1900’s. Aladdin sold precut cottages in the beginning, then sold arts & craft residences. Materials were supplied by Lewis Manufacturing and International Mill and Timber of Bay City. Both supplies eventually sold their own precut homes. Lewis began a line of homes in 1913. International Mill and Timber introduced their own line of home in 1915 under the name Sterling.

The three companies were in direct competition with each other, but were able to survive the great depression. WWII provided opportunities to manufacture barracks and temporary housing for the military. The post war housing shortage provided a short surge of house orders.

Gordon-Van Tine, Davenport Iowa (1907-1946)

Gordon-Van Tine supplied Sears with building Material for home marketed by Sears from 1907-1912. When Sears purchased its own millwork plant in Norwood Ohio in 1912, Gordon-Van Tine issued its own house plan book. In 1916 it issued its first “Ready Cut” home line. In 1945, FHA put price limits on lumber and they could no longer make a profit so they closed their doors.

Harris Brothers,

Chicago IL (1913-1960)

In 1900, this 1882 house moving company got a contract to demolish the Columbian Exposition structure and changed its name to Chicago Wrecking Company. Shortly thereafter they also got into the house plan business. Then in 1913 they changed their name again to Harris Brothers and published their first catalog of precut homes in 1915.

Montgomery Wards

Chicago, IL (1910-1931)

Wards introduced house plan books in 1910. Beginning in 1917, Gordon-Van Tine provided materials for home marketed by Wards. In 1921, Gordon-Van Tine took over the mail order housing department of Wards and gave it the brand name “Wardway Homes”. These home were identical to the Gordon-Van Tine homes, only the model names and process differed. This ended in 1931 when Wards closed its housing division.

Sears, Roebuck and Company

Chicago, IL (1908-1951)

From 1908 to 1915, Sears only sold house plans. In 1916, Sears began marketing precut homes, or kits, at the same time offering mortgages in hopes of attracting customers that could not pay cash for other precut home sellers.

Sears soon discovered that the mortgage business was more profitable than the housing business. Sears discontinued financing in 1933 and continued to sell precut homes until 1940. Post WWII, Sears began marketing a limited number of partially prefabricated models under the brand name Homart. These did not have popular appeal and were discontinued in 1951.