408 North Reid Street.
Reader Mela Sims identified the house at 408 North Reid Street as a Sears Honor Bilt catalog home (or facsimile) — the Barrington Model — which explains the dwelling’s unique lines among others in the neighborhood.
“The Barrington retains the dignity of an old English home and has the practical interior of modern American architecture. Whether you consider economy, beauty or convenience as of first importance, The Barrington home assuredly meets these and every point of merit with satisfaction. Exterior features at once stamp the mark of quality. The well balanced projection at the front forms the entrance, leading to it is a tapestry brick terrace, which is equipped with a porch seat. Sided with wide shingles and exposed fireplace chimney.”
Thank you, Mela! Catalog page courtesy of antique-home.com. Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, 2016.
The Millhouse at 109 W. Lee St. Is also a Sears Catalog house. Used to have a windmill store in yard. First Coca Cola dealer in Wilson. Owned by the Millhouse family.
Thank you for the great article, Lisa! Also, in reply to Kate, that is really interesting. I looked at the house on Google maps, and both the Lee St. and Reid St. homes appear to be of the Barrington model. Montgomery Ward made a house of a similar style in 1930, called the “Maywood”. However, looking at the Ward plans, the intricate fireplace (on both of these) is a giveaway that these houses are either the Barrington model from the Sears catalog or were pretty well copied. The Maywood also had a rectangular window above the entryway; whereas the Barrington has a 6-sided window. Both these homes have or had a 6-sided window. The house on Reid St. has a vent where the window should be, but it is still retains the 6-sided shape.
I’ve been trying to see how many more of the East Wilson houses in particular are kit homes. There were multiple companies making kit homes, and if I happen to stumble upon more, I’ll share.
Thank you! It’s tragic that Sears’ records were destroyed, making attribution difficult. It is clear that that the form is spot on, though, and the house was built in the right timeframe.
Hi, I run the national database of Sears houses and have added those two Barringtons to the list. Thanks!
Wow! Thank you! This is wonderful news!
That’s awesome, thank you!
Lara, Is your database accessible by the public?