Sears Kit House Spotlight Tuesday – Modern Home No. 171

The Sears kit house Modern Home No. 171, later called The Rossville, was an unassuming gabled ell farmhouse. In 1913 a homeowner could purchase the materials in the Modern Home No. 171 kit delivered by railcar for $597.

In the 1913 Sears Modern Homes catalog, it was described as, ” a very neat appearing and up=to-date cottage at a very low price. By reason of it simple outline and the entire absence of complicated details, the labor is but a small item of expense as compared with the average house of this size.”

First Floor

The first floor had three rooms and a pantry. A front door with a glazed lace design led one into the parlor which had an open staircase to the right. Off the living room was a bedroom and the kitchen. A small porch was off the rear of the kitchen.

Second Floor

Three bedrooms, each with a closet, made up the second level. Not the absence of a bathroom on either floor.

More

The farmhouse was built on a concrete block foundation with a basement. Narrow bevel clear cypress clapboard sided the cottage.

Locations

The Modern Home No. 171 farmhouse was built in the following cities:

Modern Home No. 171 in the Wild (not for sale)

Sidney, Ohio

This one was catalogued by Cindy Catanzaro in her blog Searshoususesinohio.wordpress.com. You can read the home’s interesting story here.