photo #8967763

The Magnolia house was a Sears kit home, 1918 For nearly 30 years, people could order a piece of the American dream through the mail. A buyer could leaf through a Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog, choose a house and mail in the order. In time, a railroad boxcar would chug into town, carrying a ready-to-assemble house — complete with nails and a 75-page instruction book. Most of the house kits came in a single box car. The model, named the Magnolia, sold between 1918 and 1922. The Sears Magnolia model was the largest and fanciest of the Sears kit homes. 7 or 8 are known to exist.