Sears Mitchell And Lookalikes

Sears Mitchell •  4616 Arlington Avenue, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sears Mitchell • 1932 Sears Modern Homes catalog

This is the first time that I have blogged about the Sears Mitchell model. That might be because it is a model that has such close lookalikes, that I am rarely confident that the house in front of me is, in fact, the Sears model. 

But, today, we have a beautiful real estate listing for a Mitchell that was found in Fort Wayne, Indiana, during a house-hunting weekend that several of our researchers were involved in. I understand that the group was headed down this street to see a Sears Barrington, and drove right by this house, and it was Dale Wolicki who spotted it as they headed back up the street. Ha! We all thought that was pretty funny, considering that there were probably quite a few avid Sears house minds--and eyes-- in the car at the time. 

There are quite a few little things to look for (on the exterior) when trying to pin down that a model like this is a Sears Mitchell, and not one of the lookalikes sold by Gordon-Van Tine, Wardway, Aladdin, Bennett Homes, or Home Builders plan book. The side windows -- on both sides-- are a huge key factor. Sometimes, though, it's hard to get a good look at both sides. There are some other distinguishing features in the front of the house, too. I'll try to explain them all. 

But, first... take a look at this door on the house on Arlington Street, in Fort Wayne! This is, without a doubt, a Sears door. It's a perfect example of what we call, "Sears curlycues". See the hinge edge of the door? That curly look? That was only on the decorative iron strapping of Sears doors. So, if se see that on a house that looks like a model from the catalogs, we know it's authentic.

Sears door with trademark Sears "curlycue" decorative iron strapping, on our Mitchell in Fort Wayne.

There is one other company that we have found, that offered decorative iron strapping with a curly edge, and that is the McKinney forged iron company, based in Pittsburgh. Their iron strapping options were advertised in a big Home Builders plan book that I have, from 1929. The curl is slightly less pronounced than the Sears curl, but the definite difference is at the other end: McKinney's strapping has a little hook at the other end. Sears' strapping has a pointy tip, kind of like the tip of a fat arrow. All of the other companies used iron strapping that did not have curylcues at the hinge edge, in any fashion.

See the difference there at the end?

What's On A Mitchell?

First, let's take a look at what to expect on the front of a Mitchell. Not all companies have all of these features. Some have most of this, some have all of this, some are clearly different here.

See the right side here, with 2 windows, then 1, 1, 1 ?
Well, the Wardway/Gordon-Van Tine version has one fewer windows on this side (2, 1, 1).

The Fort Wayne Mitchell looks good from this angle (reversed floor plan, of course).

The real test of a Mitchell, is the set of windows on the long side of the house... so, if you're looking at the catalog image, it's the left side of the house. On this Mitchell, since it's reversed, it's the right side elevation of the house.... which we can't really see in any of the photos. But, for this house, the door clinched it for us, so we know it's a Mitchell. I'll use the floor plan, and another house, to show you what we're looking for.

Here's an infographic that I've turned to many times, made by Andrew Mutch:

That single window should be right up close to that bumpout, and the triple windows within the bumpout, should have plenty of space before you get to them, just like you see here. Other companies are different here. Aladdin's University model has a single window, but it's more centered in that area... not quite as close to the bumpout, and, within the bumpout, there are only two windows, also set back toward the back of the house.  Gordon-Van Tine's Patrician, and Wardway's Newport, have a whole triple set of windows there in that first space (that's the living room, for all of the models), and then only a double, in the bumpout. The Bennett Homes Brentwood looks the most like the Mitchell: it has a single window, but it's not quite as close to the bumpout a the Mitchell's single window, and the bumpout also has three windows in it, set back like the Mitchell's windows. The plan book lookalike, the Home Builders Elyria, is very different on this side of the house, because it has no bumpout... it is even for the whole length of that side of the house.

The GVT and Wardway models are actually the same house-- on the shorter side of the house, they have one fewer windows... a double, and then just two singles; Aladdin's model is the University, and here is the Mitchell, both with a double, then a smaller bathroom window, then two bedroom windows.
(Click to enlarge.)

On the outside, the Bennett Brentwood would be pretty hard to tell from a Sears Mitchell.... though the whole bumpout looks larger on the Sears Mitchell. On the inside, the location of the closet in the front bedroom, is a key indicator.

No bumpout at all on the living room side of the house!

I was lucky enough to run across an Aladdin University this year, in Charleston, West Virginia, and to help myself figure out the differences, I looked at all of the windows on this side, and made this comparison:

Here's another house that shows this side of a Mitchell:

You can see what we expect, on both sides of the Mitchell, with these two photographs.
Notice that front set of four long windows? 

On the image above, of this white Mitchell, did you notice that the 1932 catalog doesn't show windows like that... it just shows three wider windows? Well, the older catalog versions do show this kind of front window look:

The Sears Mitchell in its first year, 1928, had a stretch of 4 long, slim windows. 

Beginning in the 1930 catalog, up through 1939 (this image), the front windows are shown as three standard size windows.

The Mitchell was first offered in 1928, and had a long run, all the way up into the 1940 catalog. It graced the cover of the 1929 catalog, and its brick-veneer twin, the Sears Stratford, starred on the front of the special Brick supplement catalog put out in 1929, also:

Sears 1929 Modern Homes catalog

Thanks to our friend at Antique Home / Daily Bungalow, for this image, and the scans above: Sears Special Supplement, 1929, Brick Veneer Honor Bilt Homes

Now that we've seen the floor plans for the competing companies, let's see their catalog images:

Aladdin Homes offered the University. (Source: 1936 Aladdin Homes catalog.)

Though Gordon-Van Tine and Wardway usually offered the same model, with a different name, you can see some differences in the look of the Patrician, vs the Newport, especially in the section over the front windows, and in the size of the window by the chimney (this window is absent on both the Sears Mitchell and Aladdin University).
(Source: 1929 GVT catalog, on Daily Bungalow)

Wardway's Newport, in their 1929 catalog. (Source: Daily Bungalow)
Also note: Look at the top of the door, on both the GVT and Wardway models. Instead of being one solid, curved-top door, it is actually a squared off door, with a separate curved section just set in there.

The photo of the Bennett Homes Brentwood, is probably actually a Sears Mitchell...look at that door.... sure looks like Sears curylcue iron strapping! (Source: Bennett Homes 1937 catalog)

It looks like the folks at Home Builders plan-book company, grabbed an image of the Sears Mitchell, as well... tell-tale curlycue iron strapping from Sears!

Interior Of Sears Mitchell In Fort Wayne

Finally, thanks to Andrew Mutch's scouring of real estate ads this weekend, we are treated to beautiful interior photos (click to enlarge) of the Sears Mitchell at 4616 Arlington Avenue, Fort Wayne, Indiana, thanks to this real estate listing:

These are the triple windows you see in the front of the house, and the window on the left is the single window on the bump out side.

This inset area is actually the start of the bump out, before it gets to the dining room windows. There should be just this single, standard size window next to it. (Wardway and GVT versions have a recessed area half this width, and next to it, is supposed to be a short-height 3-part window... though we have also seen a pair of standard-size windows, on an authenticated Wardway house.)

This is the expected rear view of the Sears Mitchell. The Wardway Newport and GVT Kent/Patrician, have a slightly different look (see comparison photo further down in the blog post).

Sears Mitchell • 4616 Arlington Avenue, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Comparison Photos: Wardway Newport and Gordon-Van Tine Kent/Patrician

Here are photos from some houses that had Wardway mortgages, to show you the contrast with what the Sears Mitchell has.

Here is a comparison of what we expect to see on the rear of the house, comparing the Sears Mitchell, to the Wardway / GVT version. (Sorry for the blurry image of the Rowley Blvd house... that's the best they had in the real estate listing.)

This is the expected width of the recessed area, on the Wardway Newport or GVT Kent/Patrician. The recessed area here, in the Sears Mitchell, is twice as wide. The recessed area of the Bennett Homes Brentwood, is about this same width. Lara Solonickne blogged about this testimonial Wardway Newport, in January of 2016. Also note, here, that the windows next to the recessed area, are two full-sized windows, whereas we expect a short-height triple window here.

This is the expected look of the bump-out side of the Wardway Newport or Gordon-Van Tine Kent/Patrician, with the short-height 3-part window. Authenticated through mortgage research by Lara Solonickne. 916 Muirfield Avenue, Waukegan, Illinois

Back bedroom. The Sears Mitchell has this 2nd window on the side wall. The floor plan of the Wardway Newport and GVT Kent/Patrician, shows only one window on this wall.

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For more information on who we are, and what we do, visit our website: SearsHouses.com

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Sears Belmont Bungalow in Marion Indiana

Sears Belmont • circa 1916 • 501 W. Spencer Avenue, Marion, Indiana

The Sears Belmont in the 1918 Sears Modern Homes Catalog

We've known for a while that an old bungalow-style Sears Belmont was built somewhere in Marion, Indiana, but we didn't know where. We knew, because, in the catalogs from about 1917-1920, on the page of the catalog showing the Belmont, there was a short list of places where Sears knew that a Belmont had been built. These little blurbs always start with, "Built at...." and then continue to list a few towns where the model was built. Well, the Belmont was listed as having been built at Marion, Indiana; Antioch, Illinois; and Armington, Illinois. We had found the one in Antioch, Illinois, but not a Belmont in those other two locations. Well, yesterday, eagle-eye researcher, Karen DeJeet, noticed that a house posted on the Facebook page, For the Love Of Old Houses, looked to be an old-style Sears Belmont. 

Here's our Marion, Indiana Sears Belmont, as shown on the FB page, For the Love Of Old Houses

When Karen checked further, she eventually learned that Marion was a "built at" location for the Sears Belmont (we call that an "advertised house"), so we have added it to our National Database of Sears Houses as an authenticated Sears house.

Here's the mention of Marion, Indiana, on the 1918 catalog page for the Belmont.

Now, there were two models that Sears called the Belmont. This is the first, and older, of the two. It ran in the catalogs from about 1914 through 1921.  We only have about 16 on our National Database of Sears Houses in the United States, so we were excited to see this one. These old models are hard to authenticate, too, because they were not pre-cut, and many would have been sold pre-1916, which means that they wouldn't have been labeled on any wood pieces. In fact, researcher Andrew Mutch has found two in New York that he thinks have Sears mortgages tied to them, but they have a few differences in their look, so he has not added them to our list. 

In 1931 or 1932, Sears offered a brick-veneer version of their popular LynnHaven design, and called it the Belmont. You can read about an authenticated one, that's in another town in Indiana (Hammond), at this blog post of mine.

An authenticated early 1930s Sears Belmont, in Hammond, Indiana

The Sears Belmont, in my late 1931 catalog.

But, let's get back to our early Belmont, and take a look at a few of the years that it was offered in the catalogs. Notice how much higher the price is in the 1920 catalog, as the post-WWI era affected the price of wood, and that was reflected in the price of our Sears kits.

The 1914 catalog offered this model as the No. 237 (well, okay, as No. 264P237).

Here is the Belmont in the 1918 catalog... four years later, and approaching twice as expensive as the 1914 kit.

This is the catalog listing for the Sears Belmont bungalow, from 1920.
The price had almost tripled from the 1914 price.

One thing that is rather unique about the Belmont, is the long stretch of windows on the right side elevation. In the bump-out area, we see a run of four slim windows, right next to each other, followed by a shorter pair of slim windows, right next to each other, and then a side door... all of that under the eaves of that peaked-gable bump out. The side door has its own little straight-line, flat roof overhang. If we think a house might be a Belmont, we look for this window-door configuration on the right side. Our Marion, Indiana house, has it.

Right side elevation of the Sears Belmont in Marion, Indiana

Another thing we look for on the Belmont, is the use of the Sears five-piece bracket. We want to see them placed just as the catalog image shows... and, they are, on our Marion, Indiana Belmont. We also hope to see the unique design along the lintel, that long rectangular stretch of area at the base of the front gable. That is present, too, on the Marion, Indiana house.

Design elements of the early Sears Belmont.

Wonderful original elements: five-piece brackets, and the series of little squares that run along the base of the front gable.

Interior Elements Of the Sears Belmont

We are so fortunate to have interior views of this house, and doubly fortunate that it has been beautifully cared for over its 100+ years. The interior is simply stunning. Additionally, we are able to see a few millwork elements that match what was offered in the 1915 Sears Building Materials catalog, and that is always exciting. Let's take a look (note that the photos of the house all come from the MLS listing photos, available here, on Realtor.com).

First floor plan of the Sears Belmont bungalow, 1918, that has a sleeping porch next to the back bedroom.

July 2022 Edit:

Shari D. commented to point out that there is a slight difference between the floor plan shown for this model in 1918 and 1920. The difference is in the back of the house. The earlier floor plan has a sleeping porch next to the back bedroom. In 1920, that sleeping porch has been absorbed into the back bedroom, causing, as well, a little change to the hallway access to that room:

Sears Belmont bungalow, 2 floor plans showing a difference in the back of the house.
Thanks to Shari D. for pointing this out!

The floor plan offers a nice, spacious, long living room, and lots of windows along both sides of the house. Here are views of three areas of the living room:

The beautiful right side of the living room, looking into the dining room. Those look certainly to be original wood floors.

A center view of the stretch of living room, focusing on that beautiful, original Craftsman M Sears door.

This end of the living room lets you see the cute little closet on the right side--an unusual element along the wall of a living room in a bungalow, but it works here... with the other end of it being a closet for the bedroom that is to the right of this room.  You can see the decorative exposed beams on the ceiling, as well. Those stretch across both the living room and dining room ceilings, I believe.

The beams are only decorative, but they sure add a nice touch.

Here is the front porch and entry area of the house. I'm showing this now, to show the exterior side of that Craftsman entry door. I found that offered in the 1915 Sears Building Materials catalog, and I should add that it's a style that we don't see very often in later years, with that lovely stretch of three long, slim rectangular inset areas. That nicely mimics the many long, slim windows along the sides of the house, and, in this house, the interior doors are of the same style, though with a solid upper section.

Beautiful Sears Craftsman-M door.

Here is that Craftsman-M door offered in the 1915 Sears Building Materials catalog.

As you move from the living room, into the dining room of the house, you immediately see, of course, the wonderful Craftsman style bookcases and colonnades, that separate the two rooms:

These have the exact same design of those shown here in the catalog, but, obviously, the bookcases are a bit taller, and the colonnades are significantly shorter, and possibly a bit wider. The catalog mentions that there were standard sizes available, and that other sizes could be requested.

Lots of windows in that dining room, where the bumpout is, and you can see the nice back side of the book cases:

Dining room, looking into the living room. The right side of the dining room is that bumped-out section of the right side of the house, with its stretch of four long windows.

This room, off of the closet end of the living room, is being used as an office or reading room, I believe, though the Sears floor plan shows this as one of the first-floor bedrooms. You can see the door to the closet that I mentioned earlier... note that it is an interior version of that Craftsman front entry door with the three rectangular inset sections:

First-floor bedroom, off of the living room, being used as an office or reading room.

Here is that beautiful Craftsman door that copies the style of the front entry door, though this one has a solid wood piece at the top. This is the Craftsman I door. I just love the rich patina on the original wood in this house. What a treat to see.

Here is the Craftsman I door in the 1915 Sears Building Supplies catalog.

Even the bathroom in this house, retains its original layout, with the two windows flanking the sink and medicine cabinet. I believe that is an original porcelain tub, as well. Those were nice and deep in the era when this house was made... nothing like the little shallow things you see today in houses from the past forty or fifty years.

This is a pretty spacious bathroom for an older bungalow, I think.

Let's finish up with a few more photos of the exterior of this great house:

EDIT: Thanks to research by Alan Miller, of Marion, Indiana, we now know that the first residents must have been Earl J. Mason, and his wife, Grace. He found them at this address in the 1916 city directory, and here they are, listed in the 1919 city directory that I was able to see on Ancestry.com:

Mr. Mason's 1940 obituary mentioned that he was the Secretary-Treasurer of the Canton Glass Company. The 1940 U. S. census shows that Earl and Grace had two sons, Richard, and Earl J. Jr.

A Few Other Sears Houses In Marion

Other researchers in our group have found these additional Sears houses in Marion:

Sears Hamilton bungalow: 2224 S Boots Street, Marion, Indiana

Sears Hamilton bungalow in the 1929 Sears Modern Homes catalogue, here .

Sears Woodland: 2120 S Boots Street, Marion, Indiana

Sears Woodland • 1921 Sears Modern Homes catalogue, here

The house in Marion has the floor plan indicated by the red square, above.

Though it needed some loving care to restore it, the real estate listing of this Woodland on S. Boots Street shows it to be full of original Craftsman woodwork.

Sears Willard at 1142 W 6th Street, Marion, Indiana

You can see the interior of this Sears Willard, at this link for a real estate listing

Sears Willard • 1932 Sears Modern Homes Catalog, here

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For more information on who we are, and what we do, visit our website: SearsHouses.com