Mail-order homes popping up more and more in Sussex

Coastal Delaware's search for early 20th century mail order catalog homes has turned up some additional examples, including a frozen custard stand in Lincoln and a beach house in Lewes that was shipped in sections from Finland.

While locating original mail order homes in Sussex County continues to be a challenge, several additional examples have emerged since a March 13 Coastal Delaware story about the 1900s housing phenomenon.

"That story sure stirred up some interest," said Russ McCabe, retired Delaware state archivist.

Indeed, it did.

And some of the newly discovered catalog homes were found with help from the Rehoboth Beach Museum. Among them: A Sears mail order house from the 1900s that is now one of Rehoboth Beach's best known restaurants.

The house hunt is related to a phenomenon that followed an acute housing shortage around the time of World War I. One solution for house-deprived families: Buy a kit home through a catalog and have it delivered.

And, in the early 1900s, those mail order homes were available from a number of companies, including Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, Aladdin, Gordon-Van Tine and others. Aladdin, Sears and Montgomery Ward alone sold over 200,000 catalog homes nationwide between 1900 and the start of World War II in 1941.

The homeowner would select a model from a catalog and the unassembled house was shipped by rail to a point close to the building lot. Local contractors — or a savvy homeowner — built the foundation, assembled the house and took care of other details like plaster, wiring and plumbing.

Though companies offered a range of sizes and architectural styles, in southern Delaware many buyers gravitated toward modest, inexpensive bungalows, often used as summertime cottages.

Throughout southern Delaware, a number of catalog homes were likely purchased but locating them has been hampered because most manufacturers' records were destroyed.

And very few of the state's historic preservation groups have attempted to document the 1900s mail order structures.

What's worse, numerous early 20th century catalog homes in southern Delaware have already been leveled, a direct result of the region's rampant growth.

Indeed, in parts of development-happy Sussex County, an unknown number of those modest mail order dwellings have been demolished to make room for larger modern homes — even when the original house had been recognized for its historic value.

"They tore my grandfather's house down in 24 hours, historic plaque and all," said Carol Popham.

Her grandfather's small bungalow was originally purchased from a Sears catalog in the 1930s and placed on a lot on Oak Avenue about a block from the ocean in Rehoboth Beach.

It has been replaced by a 3,500 square foot, single-family home with seven bedrooms and six baths. Value: About  $2.2 million, quite a contrast to the original Sears house that cost less than $2,000, including the lot.

But Warren and Debbie Glaeser found a way to dodge the developer's wrecking ball: They moved their Sears catalog home from its original and very vulnerable Coastal Highway location in Rehoboth Beach to a quiet, treed lot outside of Millsboro.

One of the most intriguing new catalog building discoveries was a small kit house that was apparently sold by Montgomery Ward and assembled on a dairy farm in Lincoln. Its purpose was unusual: It was used as a frozen custard stand.

Though the exact date of construction is in dispute, Calhoun's Delicious Frozen Custard  Parlor apparently made its debut in 1940.

Joshua Gates, a University of Delaware student in the Center for Historic Architecture and Design, prepared a nomination to have the well-preserved dwelling listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But the nomination has not been submitted to the National Park Service because of gaps in the building's chronology and early history.

Nevertheless, the Lincoln structure, now used as an office, remains in remarkable original condition — minus the frozen custard.

"It is amazing," said Daniel Parsons, Sussex County historic preservation planner.

There are several other Sussex County dwellings with a novel past.

In Lewes, a 1950s era vacation home was constructed in Finland, shipped in sections by boat to New York and transported by truck to Delaware, where it was assembled on a lot in town.

Beebe Frazer, daughter of the original owner, said the cottage has been renovated and is used by the family for vacations.

Judy Emory's parents purchased a kit house from a company called Pine Ridge and placed it on a lot in Fenwick Island. The kit was assembled in the 1950s and is still used as a family vacation home.

"Unfortunately, it does not have the neat characteristics of some of the other kit homes of that era," Emory said.

Richard Green bought his Sears home from Ed Hill, a Rehoboth Beach native and former owner of a boardwalk bath house. The "Wilmore" model home was built by Hill around 1935 and Green bought it in 2000.

When the sale was completed, Green said Hill presented him a page from a Sears Roebuck catalog showing the exact model and floor plan, which helped document its origin.

"I feel good about its lineage," Green said.

Green's home has been extensively renovated and little of the original Sears exterior remains.

The original section of the Blue Moon restaurant in Rehoboth Beach also was a Sears catalog home, built around 1907. While little is known about its early history, the home looks a Sears model called the "Hamilton." It has had several additions since becoming a restaurant in 1981.

"Though it looks like a Sears, we are still trying to find the true origin of the house," said Meghan Gardner, Blue Moon co-owner.

Peg and Albert Carter bought a 1920s era Sears catalog home in Rehoboth Beach over a decade ago and it probably was a "Vallonia" model. It is remarkably original with wonderful architectural detail, except that the front porch was screened in to make it more comfortable and bug free.

"Other than that, very little has been done," Peg Carter said.

The Carters are the fourth owners.

"I just love that house even if I know little of its history," Carter said.

In Ocean View, local historical society member Lene Kuhblank identified a Sears home on Osprey Lane but it has been modified to the point that it no longer has any of the typical external attributes of a mail order home. It had originally been built as a summer home by the Cali family from Fairfax, Virginia.

"Apparently, they built the foundation with the help of family and friends and then the rest of the house was delivered from Sears Roebuck," Kuhblank said.

Though many contemporary owners of catalog homes have renovated inside and out, when the Glaesers moved their Sears home from Rehoboth Beach to Millsboro, they tried to retain as many original features as possible.

In the kitchen, for example, the original cupboards and sink are still used. The original bathroom features an era-correct clawfoot tub. And even a recent addition to enlarge the modest Sears footprint has been designed to mimic the original interior.

"It was a typical catalog home and we wanted to keep as much of that original look as possible," Warren Glaeser said.

"These homes were pretty amazing," Debbie Glaeser said.

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