Sears Kit Homes

 Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance and Lincoln Park Historical Society is having historic preservationists and home researchers Andrew and Wendy Mutch speak on the Sears Kit Homes on Wednesday, June 5, 2019, 7:00 PM at the Lincoln Park Historical Museum, 1335 Southfield Road, Lincoln Park.  The Sears Kit Homes, popular with middle class homeowners from 1908 to 1940, also exist in Lincoln Park and other parts of Downriver.

The evening will be the kickoff of a special exhibit at the Lincoln Park Historical Museum on the Sears Lincoln Park Store that recently closed.

Andrew and Wendy Mutch are owners of a historic 1926 Sears Kit Home, “Hamilton” in Novi. They are dedicated kit house hunters, seeking out and helping to preserve these unique American homes through their blog, Kit House Hunters, where they share their research.

 During the prime of the kit homes, 1906 to 1942, there were seven main kit home companies selling nationwide, including retailers Sears and Montgomery Ward. Three were based in Bay City, Michigan. Aladdin Homes, out of Bay City, was the first kit home company in 1906. Sears followed in 1908. The two others out of Bay City were Lewis Homes and Sterling Homes.

 Sears, which produced 370 different models, were made available from 1908 to 1940. It is said that as many as 50,000 Sears kit homes are still standing.

 Andrew Mutch has identified nine homes in Lincoln Park that are Sears catalog homes along with two others that are possibly Sears kit homes.

 The Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance is a non-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of Lincoln Park’s historic resources, working to protect Lincoln Park’s historic sites through education, advocacy, research, tours, workshops, and lectures.