Illinois Bicentennal

In 1908, Sears published their first specialty catalog issued for houses, Book of Modern Homes and Building Plans, featuring 22 styles ranging in price from $650–2,500.

Between 1908 and 1940, as many as 100,000 Americans bought their house from a Sears catalog. The houses would be shipped by railroad and would include about 30,000 parts - not counting the nails and screws. All you needed was a lot to build on. In addition to saving money on materials, it took only about 350 hours of carpenter labor to build one. About half the time compared to a conventional house build.

Many of these homes were built in Illinois. In fact, Elgin, Illinois has the largest known collection of Sears Homes in the country. And in 1918, Standard Oil Company purchased 192 houses for its mineworkers in Carlinville, IL (approximately $1 million).

Content for this page is from: AmericasLibrary.gov

Aurora picture is from: Sears Homes of Chicagoland - Sears-homes.com