A Rare Authenticated Homart Home in Glenview

When Sears Roebuck stopped selling their famous Modern Homes made with pre-cut lumber in 1942, it seemed like the end of an era. Wartime priorities meant that all lumber in the U.S. was allocated to the war effort and not domestic homebuilding. But Sears didn’t stay out of the housing business for long. By 1946, they were back—this time with a new line of "ready to erect" dwellings known as Homart Homes, sold in limited distribution until about 1952.

Homart Homes were a very different concept from the earlier Modern Homes. Instead of loose framing lumber bundled for assembly, these houses arrived as factory-built wall panels with the windows and doors already installed. Roof gables, door canopies, roof panels, and basement stairs were pre-assembled as well. Other materials—floor and ceiling joists, subflooring, and trim—came as pre-cut lumber. Buyers could opt for a basement as well.

To reassure do-it-yourself builders, the Sears Roebuck catalog from Fall 1949 showed how easy it was to assemble a Homart Home.

According to Sears advertising, three men could have the house “under roof” in only three days. 

Customers could place orders through the mail-order catalog or at Sears retail stores. For $1.50, Sears would sell you a full-color, die-cut cardboard miniature model of your selected Homart Home—miniature furniture and landscaping included—so you could “plan it inside and out.”

Ad from the Garfieldian newspaper, 1946.

Each Homart Home was produced at the factory closest to the buyer, either Cairo, Illinois or Trenton, New Jersey. Usually the materials were delivered by truck directly to the customer's lot. If the customer lived more than 400 miles away from either factory, the materials were shipped by rail.

Homart Homes were designed by Richard B. Pollman of Home Planners, Inc.

Prefabricated housing boomed in the years immediately after World War II, driven by a nationwide housing shortage and the desire for fast, affordable construction. Sears was only one player in a crowded field that included General Houses, Gunnison, Mobilhome, and Lustron, to name a few.

I don't think Homart Homes sold very well (Sears did not advertise them much) and they are difficult to identify today because they look like a million other postwar houses. About 15 Homart Homes have been authenticated nationwide. One of those is in Glenview.

1654 Elmdale, Glenview.

A similar model from the Homart Homes catalog. 

Many of the Homart Homes had the same exterior dimensions and the same arrangement of the front door and windows. But the interior layouts varied among the models.

I could never have spotted this house, but fortunately its story surfaced thanks to a 1996 article in the Glenview Announcements.

Jerald Stephens and his wife Verda purchased the Homart Home in 1951 while Jerald was stationed at the Glenview Naval Air Station. He built the family home on an empty cornfield near the base with the help of a few friends.

Jerald, who had no building experience, was able to complete the wiring, the plumbing, and the foundation for the basement.

For all their simplicity, these Homart Homes represent a transitional moment in American housing—one defined by the need for fast, affordable construction.

Looking for more information about Homart Homes? 

• Check out this blog post on Instant House
• Read my article about a Homart Home in Oak Brook Terrace.
  
• Read another article about a rehabbed Homart Home in Wheaton.