A 1910 Sears Avoca in Woodstock

This year I'm trying to focus on the old Sears houses in the Chicago area (pre-1914). The problem is that they are not easy to come by.

There is a Sears Avoca in Woodstock that was built in 1910. (If you've never been to Woodstock, it's an idyllic town where they shot the movie Groundhog Day.)

325 Ridgeland, Woodstock.

  

Sears Avoca.

The bay window in the front is gone, but it may not have been there originally. In the early days of the Modern Homes department, Sears sold the customer all the materials needed to build the house, but the lumber was not pre-cut. This meant that changes to the standard floor plan were easy to accommodate.

Nice woodwork around the staircase. In many of the early Sears models, this sort of detail was typical. Photo courtesy of Realtor site.

 

Photo courtesy of Realtor site.

 

A Sears newel post--a perfect match to the one on the Avoca. 

 

The Avoca had an interesting layout in the kitchen. From right to left, a door to the porch, an angled door to the pantry, and a door to the dining room.

 

1-2-3. Photo courtesy of Realtor site.

The window trim is original from Sears. Photo courtesy of Realtor site.

The original owners were William and Sadie Robinson. He was a toolmaker for a typewriter factory, as were most men who lived in Woodstock. At one time Woodstock was called "Typewriter City" because its factories produced three brands of typewriters.

Sears did not offer financing in 1910, and customers had to find a lender. The deed records show that the Robinsons secured a mortgage from G.E. Still, a local banker, in April 1910.

The Robinsons sold the Avoca in June 1941 to Harold and Verna Schultz. The Schultz family owned it until 2011.