Letter To The Editor: AALA Presents Drive-by Kit House Tour

ALTON - It didn’t take too long this spring to realize a traditional AALA Fall Historic House Tour would not be possible.

We quickly decided we would have a drive-by only tour this year. After considering a couple of themes, we were approached by Rosemary Thornton with a suggestion we couldn’t turn down. Thornton is a nationally known expert on Sears Homes. She authored the book “The Houses That Sears Built”. She offered to compile an Alton kit house tour for us. She identified about 20 kit homes.

During the early 1900s there were seven companies, Sears, Gordon Van Tine, Lewis, Aladdin, Montgomery Ward, Sterling and Harris Brothers, that sold kit homes on national level. After ordering the house you desired from a catalog, the 12,000 precut pieces were shipped to your town by rail. A skilled carpenter was said to be able to assemble the house with its 75-page instruction book in 90 days.

We have included 19 addresses in our tour. Ten of the houses are featured with the picture of the house from the manufacturer’s catalog and a paragraph about the house written by Rosemary Thornton."

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The tour can be downloaded from the AALA’s website (www.altonlandmarks.org).

The Alton Area Landmarks Association, Inc. is a not-for-profit 501-3C corporation. Donations made to AALA are tax deductible.

Terry Sharp

Alton Area Landmarks

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