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Yes, Virginia, Sears DID sell barns!

Hybrid

While mail-order houses are well known, fewer realize major companies sold barns and farm buildings from 1909–1936. This program explores catalog images and surviving examples from Sears and others.

By now, most people are aware that companies such a Sears Roebuck, Gordon-Van Tine and Aladdin sold houses in mail order catalogs. Less known is the fact that five of the major mail order house companies also sold barns and other farm buildings from 1909-1936. The largest number and variety of such buildings were sold before 1920, when the majority of the United States population was still rural.

We will examine images from catalogs of Sears, Wards, Gordon-Van Tine Harris Brothers and Aladdin as well as pictures of authenticated mail order barns that are still standing.

Presented by Rebecca Hunter Author, researcher and lecturer who has received two master’s degrees from Governors State University and has authored numerous articles.

Working with the Elgin Illinois Heritage Commission, Hunter located and photo-documented over 300 mail order homes in Elgin. Hunter's books, "Elgin Illinois Sears House Research Project" and “Beyond Sears: Mail Order Homes in Elgin Illinois from Gordon-Van Tine, Aladdin, Lewis, Sterling, Montgomery Wards and Harris Brothers are available in Elgin’s Gail Borden Public Library. Her books Putting Sears Homes on the Map and Sears, Roebuck Book of Barns were published in 2004 and 2005 respectively.  Mail-Order Homes was published in 2012.

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