The Sears and Roebuck House  3-31-07

From about 1905 through 1930 in Texas, a style of residence became very popular. It emphasized excellent craftsmanship and featured simple construction. The bungalow, sometimes called the “California Bungalow,” is considered a house reduced to its simplest form.

The ideal bungalow floor plan is functional. The door opens into a living room. Usually, it is a four-room one story structure with a pitched roof line and wide overhangs. In Texas, the exterior is often wood.

Another characteristic includes a front porch supported by piers. All interior woodwork was a stained natural wood color.

The bungalow became most popular at the time of World War I. Plan books were available through mail order catalogs. Sears, Roebuck and Company offered architectural plans for $5 and complete pre-cut houses for a few hundred dollars.

With the expansion of the railroad to most communities in America, pre-cut material could easily be provided for local craftsmen to assemble. The bungalow was popular because it represented inexpensive housing, inexpensive material and inexpensive transportation.

It was easy to purchase a Sears, Roebuck house. All you needed to do was fill out the catalog order blank, including a check. Then, within 30 days, the depot agent would notify you that a railroad flat car was parked on a side track with all the components to build your new home. This was the beginning of mass production in the home building industry.

The restored home of Dan and Laurel Hubbell at 307 Elm is thought to be a Sears, Roebuck house. After moving to Winnsboro in 1906, it is believed that Col. James Stinson built this residence next door to his home (Thee Hubbell House) to house family members. Several years ago, the Hubbells purchased the structure and began a complete restoration project.

Today, this beautiful old home from the past once again breathes new life thanks to Dan and Laurel Hubbell.

(Ed. Note: The above first appeared as an article which appeared in Winnsboro Senior Texas News written by Bill Jones. Some further information on these houses which surfaced in some Gazette research may be of interest to our readers.)

In 1895, Sears, Roebuck and Company invited catalog customers to write in and ask for a copy of the “Book of Modern Homes” which featured house plans and building materials. By 1908 the company was distributing the first major Modern Home catalog which was 68-pages long and featured 44 houses. The timing was ideal. In 1900 only 8,000 cars were on America’s roads. Just a decade later, this number had swelled to 460,000 automobiles.

People began heading out to the suburbs in their Model T’s and Sears had just the home for them. After they choose the home they liked, customers sent in a $1 fee and received a materials list and blueprints by return mail.

A few weeks after the order was placed, two boxcars containing 30,000 pieces would arrive at the nearest train depot. A 75-page leather-bound instruction manual showed the homeowners how to assemble the house. The book also offered this warning: “Do not take anyone’s advice on how this building should be assembled.”

The kit contained everything needs from nails, to roof shingles to paint and varnish.

For one model, The Chelsea, Sears estimated that a carpenter in 1908 would charge $450 to assemble the home. The painter’s bills would be about $34.50 and a plasterer’s bill would come to about $200.

The entire concept and its execution is amazing testimony to American enterprise and ingenuity. Any readers interested in finding out more about these homes can Google Sears, Roebuck on the Internet.