Display features Sears homes

Lori Hammelman
Posted 9/21/18

Once upon a time, choosing a new home was as simple as ordering through a catalog.

To date, 24 houses in Rochelle have been identified as “Sears homes” and have names such as Sunbeam, Ellsworth, Rodessa and Clyde.

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Display features Sears homes

Posted

Once upon a time, choosing a new home was as simple as ordering through a catalog.
To date, 24 houses in Rochelle have been identified as “Sears homes” and have names such as Sunbeam, Ellsworth, Rodessa and Clyde.
The homes and addresses are featured in the newest display at the Flagg Township Museum. The display is part of the state’s bicentennial celebration and includes what homes looked like in 1818, 1918, and 2018.

Sears, Roebuck and Company sold over 70,000 homes from their catalog from 1908 to 1940 with about 400 styles to choose from.
“People could purchase the home from the Sears catalog, get the materials and the plans…that’s how many people bought things…through the catalogs,” Kathy Johnson, museum director, said. “When you were out in the middle of nowhere like Rochelle at that time, you didn’t have a lumber store or a Menard’s close by. You had to order it.”
Home prices averaged anywhere between $400 and $3,000, which included everything to assemble. The home had the latest in technology available at the time — central heating, indoor plumbing, and asphalt shingles and drywall that replaced the plaster and lath walls so common earlier.
“We encourage the community to come to the museum and see if their house might be a Sears home, and see our newest display,” Johnson added. “The homes listed are ones that have been researched and confirmed. There could be more in the area.”
The Flagg Township Museum is open Thursdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and features three levels of exhibits. It is located at 518 Fourth Avenue in Rochelle. For more information call 815-562-3040.