Sunday, April 7, 2024

Sears Kilbourne In Martinsville Virginia

color photo, front view of exterior, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA
Sears Kilbourne, circa1925-1930 • 621 Mulberry Rd, Martinsville, Virginia

I noticed this Sears Kilbourne in the real estate listings yesterday, and thought it was time to do a quick post, to highlight it. I Just really like the Kilbourne. I did a blog post about one in August of 2021, which you can see here... that one was in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, and I showed one or two others in that post, as well.

This Kilbourne in Martinsville, Pennsylvania is unusual, in that it has brick porch columns... I don't recall ever having seen that before. This house is not authenticated, but it does seem to follow the layout of the Kilbourne correctly, and the placement of the windows and doors seems correct, so I believe that it is one. It is in the real estate listings as a Sears house, but that is frequently said about houses that simply are not a match for anything that Sears ever offered (sometimes, they are kit houses from other companies, but very often they are just thinking that because a house is of Craftsman design, it's a Sears house), so that is never a given.

This house would have been built between 1925 and 1930. We know this, because, though the Kilbourne was offered from 1921-1930, the catalog image beginning in 1925, shows purlins, rather than curvy brackets, supporting the large front porch gable, and that's what this house has. The Zillow listing gives the build year as 1929, and that date probably comes from the county assessor records... which may be accurate, or may be off by a few years.
black and white drawing image of Sears Kilbourne in the 1923 Sears Modern Homes catalog

black and white drawing image of Sears Kilbourne in the 1925 Sears Modern Homes catalog
You can see the Kilbourne in the 1925 Sears Modern Homes catalog, here

I don't have any historical information about the original owners of this house, unfortunately. The only thing I found in my research, was that Billy and Ernestine Franklin lived here in 1952, according to a mention of the birth of their daughter, Coris Ann Franklin, on June 11 that year:
black and white image of newspaper mention of birth of Coris Franklin, 1952, parents Billy and Ernestine Franklin
Birth announcement in the Roanoke Times, Sunday, January 29, 1952, page 48.

Inside the Sears Kilbourne In Martinsville

So, let's just move on to taking a look at this very nice Sears house, in Martinsville, Virginia. These photos all come from this Trulia listing in April of 2024:

color photo, front view of exterior, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, front view of exterior, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, front porch, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, front porch, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, front porch view, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA
Sepia toned catalog image of first floor floorplan, Sears Kilbourne, 1925
Sears Kilbourne floor plan, first floor, 1925 Sears Modern Homes catalog

Sepia toned catalog image of second floor floorplan, Sears Kilbourne, 1925
Sears Kilbourne floor plan, second floor, 1925 Sears Modern Homes catalog

color photo, living room, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, living room, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, living room, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, living room, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, living room, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, living room fireplace wall, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, living room, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, dining room, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, dining room, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, kitchen, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, kitchen, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, kitchen, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, kitchen, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, kitchen, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, bathroom, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, bedroom and hall, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, bedroom, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, bedroom, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, bedroom, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, kitchen and staircase, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, 2nd floor rooms, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, 2nd floor rooms, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, 2nd floor rooms, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VAcolor photo, 2nd floor rooms, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, 2nd floor rooms, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, 2nd floor rooms, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, 2nd floor rooms, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, 2nd floor rooms, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, 2nd floor rooms, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, exterior view of rear of Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

color photo, exterior view of front and right elevation, Sears Kilbourne 621 Mulberry Rd Martinsville VA

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