Sears Kit Home Plans

Retired firefighter sets out to find rare kit homes in Tulsa

A retired Tulsa firefighter, Shoemaker is trying to find a rare type of home in Tulsa: catalog-ordered kit homes from Sears and other manufacturers built between 1908 and 1940.

With the help of a national expert who has written eight books on the subject, Virginia-based Rosemary Thornton, Shoemaker insists she has identified more than a dozen homes that fit the bill in Tulsa, one in Vinita and another well-known home in Chelsea.

"What got me interested in these houses was I couldn't find anything out about them here," she said. "We know all about the oil mansions. We know where Waite Phillips lived. But I couldn't find out anything out about these little houses."

These affordable kit homes could be selected from many styles and models from a catalog, such as Sears & Roebuck, which first offered a full kit in 1908. Other companies, such as Aladdin Homes, Montgomery Ward, Gordon-Van Tine and others, also offered kit homes, according to Thornton's book, "The Houses That Sears Built," (Gentle Beam Publications, 2004). Once ordered, the lumber, other building materials and instructions would arrive by train, and the family would build their home themselves.

When Shoemaker first contacted Thornton about her early finds, Thornton was "shocked out of my socks. If you had asked me if there were Sears homes in Tulsa, I would have thought there was maybe one in the state," she said in a telephone interview. "They're the real deal."

Thornton had Shoemaker provide photos shot from many angles for her to verify.

"I think she's got a remarkable blend of passion and the ability to memorize these houses, and a natural love of these homes," Thornton said. "She's a remarkable resource."

Just because a home was ordered from a catalog, did not mean the quality was low.

"Many people have the idea that Sears homes are lesser quality homes and/or they're very modest homes ...

Foursquare houses: shipped to you in 30000 pieces from Sears ...

. This is your Architectural Minute .

Time-travel back to the 1890s. You're in the heart of the Industrial Revolution and part of a growing middle class. The economy is recovering from depression and you've been hired at a new corporation in the big city. You are going to relocate, and you'll be sharing your new home with your in-laws, who have just immigrated from Europe. Turns out a lot of people are in your shoes and housing hasn't yet been built for this influx of city dwellers. Hey, I have an idea. You can mail order a no-fuss, pre-cut Foursquare!

Oh! You'll love this. The Foursquare is symmetrical and uncomplicated; it's pure geometry. A cube with a pyramid on top. These are post-Victorian times. No more irregular roofs or rambling floor plans with excessive hallways and stairways. Ornate is out. The Foursquare promises "honest" woodwork throughout; no frills.

Your city lot is small, but you'll maximize its potential with the Foursquare's space-efficient design. Two and half stories and a wide single story porch. Four is the number of equal sized rooms on the 1st and 2nd floor. You've also got a full basement and attic space built out with a dormer. Just select one of 20 designs in the Sears Roebucks catalog and your 30,000 piece home will be delivered by rail in two boxcars.

These homes will rapidly fill cities, suburbs and farms up until the late 1930s. Rest assured that your home will survive as a testament to fine American craftsmanship.

Time to time-travel again, a century later. The Foursquare is a comfortable boxy specimen on America's historic street-scape. Not overly fancy, but rich in woodwork and sporting sweet-ass porches for kickin' back and drinking lemonade.

True! I read one of the main ways to know if your foursquare was a kit house is by the numbering system on the studs in the wall! Or if the original hardware remained, it would be branded all the same from the original company, or you might have a paper trail.

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