South Hampton Roads during the early twentieth century experienced a building boom and cities like Norfolk continued to expand into the Tanner's Creek District portion of Norfolk County. Most of these land developers were local entities that used kit houses to make the building of the homes quicker and relatively painless. These kit houses could and were customized due to the house buyers' preference or limitations of the lot where the structure was going to be built on.
This page offers links to selective resources that will assist in finding information about kit houses.
Virginia Department of Historic Resources commissioned a survey in 2006 where William and Mary Center for Archaeological Research conducted research into the type of kit houses used in southeastern Virginia. Below is the title and link to the report:
William and Mary Center for Archaeological Research. THE KIT HOUSE IN SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA: Architectural Documentation of Kit Houses Manufactured by Sears, Roebuck and Company Located within the Cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach, Virginia Williamsburg, VA, 2006. www.dhr.virginia.gov/pdf_files/SpecialCollections/VA-68_Sears_Kit_Houses_2006_Report.pdf
The section below contains links to broader resources that contains information about kit homes and digitized resources like catalogs:
Informational sites:
How to Identify a Kit House (University of Maryland) - https://lib.guides.umd.edu/c.php?g=327170&p=2195425
Kit House Identification (Historic New England) - https://kithouses.org/topic/identification/
InspectAPedia, "Guide to Kit Houses & Homes" - https://inspectapedia.com/Design/Kit_Houses.php
Wikipedia for "Kit Houses" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_house
Antique Home Style - https://www.antiquehomestyle.com/index.htm
Digitized Magazines, Journals, etc.:
American Builder - https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=amerbuilder
American Carpenter and Builder - https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=amercarpbuil
Sources with Digitized House Catalogs and Other Publications:
Link to digitized kit home catalogs at Internet Archive: Architecture, Domestic--United States--Designs and plans--Catalogs
Catalogs Online: Sears, Radford, Gordon-Van Tine - https://www.searshouseseeker.com/2015/07/catalogs-online-sears-radford-gordon.html
Click on each company's entry to see the resources associated with it.
Aladdin Company of Bay City
Informational Sites:
Aladdin Kit Homes - https://www.antiquehomestyle.com/plans/aladdin/index.htm
Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University - Aladdin Company of Bay City Records
University of Pennsylvania - https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=aladdincat
Sources with Digitized House Catalogs and Other Publications:
Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University - Aladdin Catalogs
HathiTrust - Aladdin Company
Internet Archive:
Gordon - Van Tine Company
Sources with Digitized House Catalogs and Other Publications:
Internet Archive - Gordon Van Tine Co.
Montgomery Ward
Informational sites:
Montgomery Ward records, 1849-1989, MSS 08088, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming. https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv470617
Sources with Digitized House Catalogs and Other Publications:
Internet Archive -
Digitized House Catalogs:
Sources with Digitized House Catalogs and Other Publications:
Internet Archive -
Digitized House Catalogs and Other Publications:
Informational Sites:
Sears Modern Homes Wikipedia Page
Sears Archives - http://www.searsarchives.com/
Sears Houses - https://www.searshouses.com/
Sears Modern Homes - https://searshomes.org/
Identifying a Sears Kit Home - https://searshomes.org/index.php/2013/03/26/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-marked-lumber/.
Digitized House Catalogs and Other Publications:
"Modern Homes" Catalogs