Sears and Roebuck revolutionized homeownership with their mail-order home kits, sold between 1908 and 1940. The Magnolia, a grand two-story Colonial Revival design, was among the most luxurious, featuring four bedrooms, a spacious porch, and elegant details like columns and dormers. Priced around $5,000-$6,000, it appealed to affluent buyers. Other kits, like the simpler Vallonia or Carlin, catered to modest budgets. Shipped in pre-cut pieces, these DIY homes built over 70,000 American dreams.
The Magnolia house was a model offered by Sears, Roebuck and Co. from 1918 to 1922 as part of their mail-order kit homes program, known for its elegance and size, making it one of the most prestigious models available. Only seven known Magnolias exist today, with the best-preserved example located in Syracuse, New York.
How it worked
A buyer looked through a Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog, chose a house and mailed in their order. Later, a ready-to-assemble house — complete with nails and a 75-page instruction book would arrive at the nearest railroad station in a boxcar. Most of the house kits came in a single box car. The Magnolia needed two.
These Sears and Roebuck’s home kits, part of their Modern Homes catalog, offered over 370 designs, from cozy bungalows to stately mansions like the Magnolia. Launched in 1908, the program peaked in the 1920s, tapping into a growing middle class and rural housing boom. The Magnolia, a standout, boasted 2,900 square feet, hardwood floors, and optional extras like plumbing and electricity—luxuries for the era.
Kits arrived via railcar with 30,000+ pieces, including nails and instructions, for buyers to assemble or hire builders. Prices ranged from $500 for basic models to $6,000 for upscale ones like the Magnolia, often financed through Sears.
During the Great Depression, Sears Modern Homes sales plummeted as economic hardship hit. From a peak of 15,000 homes sold in 1929, numbers crashed to under 2,000 annually by the mid-1930s. The Magnolia and other high-end models became near-unsellable, while cheaper kits like the $700 Starlight saw modest demand. Sears offered discounts and lenient financing, but foreclosures soared, and the program never recovered. By 1940, economic shifts and World War II ended the program, but many homes still stand today, testaments to ingenuity and ambition.