Houses In Pretty Boxcars

I was doing some research on the history of the style of house that our recent purchase of a Foursquare house. I stumbled upon an old 1920's ad for a "kit model" for this style of home. I was also amused to find out that Sears and Roebuck used to offer these types of homes as a build-by-number building system kit. Yes, each piece of lumber was numbered, making it easy for the layman to build their own home! I read that if I looked hard enough in our attic, we might be able to spot a number or stamp on the beams (I'm definitely running up there later to check!)

In our neighborhood, a lot of these homes were built because we reside just three short blocks away from where the old B & O Railroad used to exist. The materials for the house were placed in boxcars--very convenient and cost effective--and transported directly to the buyer.

Wow, a little piece of house history I stumbled upon--and check out the price of a house in the 1920's!