Sears Hazelton in Guthrie Center, Iowa

1920 Sears Hazelton • 505 N. 12th Street, Guthrie Center, Iowa

Back in mid March (2015), I found this house in Guthrie Center, Iowa, about an hour west of Des Moines, while looking through tax records for Guthrie County.  It matches everything it needs to, to be a Sears Hazelton. It's not authenticated, but I have compared its footprint and windows against various companies' "lookalikes", and this one seems to fit the bill. My first Hazelton!

Sears Hazelton, from my 1916 catalog.

Obviously, reverse floor plan.

The bump-out has the required 4 long windows; there are three little square windows in front of it, and there's one double window behind it; and, the tell-tale sign: the little window on the side of the bump-out. Some authenticated Hazeltons don't have this (we guess that it was a cost-saving choice), but, of all of the "lookalikes", I believe that Sears is the only one to have that little window.  This house looks to have been built to accommodate an extra living space in a half-story above, given the additional center window above the bump-out.

It's always important to try to consult tax records to get an image of the footprint of the house, and then to compare that with the catalog image. Voilà! We have a nice match.


Lookalike Models to the Sears Hazelton
As there are known "lookalikes" to the Hazelton, made by other companies, I spent some time digging around in catalogs on Archive.org, to compare this one to the lookalike model from several other companies: Radford, Gordon-VanTine, Chicago Millwork, Wardway.

Sears is the only one to have the little window on the side of the bump-out.
• Radford (No. 10873) is several feet bigger than any others, at 32' wide X 42' deep (only one bump out)
• Keith's Magazine-- 27.6' wide by 48.6" deep, and has additional bump-out (on opposite side)
• The Chicago Millwork version is exactly the same size as the Sears, with windows all in the same spot EXCEPT: no little side window on the bump-out.
• The GVT and Wardway (they shared the design) are a different size (28 X 36), whereas Sears is almost 30 X 39 (like this house).
• GVT/Wardway also have the difference of the first (bedroom) window on the non-bump-out side, being not centered in the room (as it is on the Hazelton)--it's just a little further back on the GVT/Wardway. Also, the window in the back bedroom on that side, is centered in the room on the Sears plan, but that room's window on the GVT/Wardway plan is just slightly more to the front, than the center, of that room.

There are some differences in the layout in the interior between these two companies' models, but these would not be visible from the outside ... but, those two side windows would be.

3 windows up in the slim dormer; 3 windows on either side of the center door, on the porch. Porch columns on the ends of the porch are set in a group of 3, too.  Front door is just slightly off center. Every serious Sears researcher knows the Hazelton, and has learned to look for these trademark signs.
(all house images from Google Maps)

A Hazelton Interior
We have several probable Hazeltons on our National Database of Sears Homes.  One of those, at 1406 Rural Street, Emporia, Kansas, was for sale some time recently, and so there are photos of its interior, available at this listing on Trulia. This one is not authenticated, but a look through the interior shots, following along with the catalog floor plan, shows rooms and windows that are in the right spot. Of course, the Chicago Millwork Supply Company's model (design No. 118) looked exactly the same... except for the lack of a little side window on the bump-out... and this one lacks that window. We never can be certain, without a mortgage or foreclosure deed, stamped lumber, shipping labels, or a blueprint.

Click on any of these photos to enlarge it.

Those three little square windows, and the big opening
to lead to the dining room.

The dining room bump-out, with its 4 windows.

The catalog floor plan shows the bedrooms having a door
to a closet, right next to a door to the hall.

Upstairs finished space.

The three windows of the dormer.

The probable Hazelton in Guthrie Center, Iowa, is not the only Sears model that I have found there.  I recently blogged about a very interesting model No. 178, not too far from this house, that I found shortly after this house.