A Sears Avondale in Hamilton

I can’t believe Summer is almost over and I haven’t been out and about looking for Sears Houses in Ohio! It IS still Summer though, according to my real calendar, even though most of us equate Summer ending with Back to School, Labor Day and the start of football, all of which have already happened.

I thought I would have a lot of time for this little hobby of mine after we retired, but life challenges got in the way, and I’ve had less time, along with waning interest.

But now, I have to get motivated, because I was asked, long ago, to do a short Presentation about Sears Houses in Butler County, and it’s coming up!

So after spending some time reviewing our list for houses that were already located, and re-checking my spreadsheet of mortgage records for Butler County, hubby and took a drive down to Hamilton to find the place where I would be speaking soon. Of course, I also wanted to check out a few of the houses I was going to show off in my Presentation while we were there.

The first house I wanted to stop and see was a Sears Avondale that apparently I located some time ago, but I don’t remember when. It must have been from Google driving because once we got to the street, Maple Ave., I was sure I hadn’t been there “for real” before, either by myself, or with other members of my research group.

The reason I wanted to see this house in person was because it was partially hidden by trees on Google Maps and I wanted to get my own photos of it from the sidewalk.

As an aside, I do want to mention that years ago, I was told by one of the original researchers of Sears Houses, Rosemary Thornton, to always check out streets with tree names because you were likely to find them there, as they were in older neighborhoods. I, myself, haven’t found that to always be true, but I still look anyway.

In this case, it was true! Thanks, Rose.

Another reason I wanted to see this house in person was because during my review of already located Sears Houses in Butler County, I came across an older real estate listing for it, which turned it from being a “probable” house from Sears, to a “definite”.

First, here’s the catalog listing for the Avondale.

Sears had a pretty detailed description of the Main Floor in the catalog.

Here’s some photos from the real estate listing that document several of those details.

1. brick fireplace with seats on both sides – check
2. colored leaded art glass sash over each seat – check
3. arch opening with four massive columns and balustrades – check

Photo from MLS listing

4. Craftsman oak buffet with plate glass mirror – check

Photo from MLS listing

Now you might say that lots of old style bungalows from the early 1900’s had those types of features, and you would be right, but…..I was able to match up the art glass window to one that was offered in the early Sears Building Materials catalog.

It’s a beauty, and this home has lots of them!

Photo from MLS listing

And here is the Craftsman oak buffet. Both the Art Glass windows and the buffet catalog images are from the 1912 Building Materials catalog.

The Sears Avondale was offered for quite a few years, from 1911 until 1922, according to Houses by Mail, the field guide for Sears Houses published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1986.

I always want to know what year a house was built after it is located, and when I went looking for that I discovered that Butler County has added some older real estate records to their Recorder’s Website. Using those I was able to pinpoint the year of build……..because the house was originally financed through Sears, Roebuck!

Walker O Lewis was the Trustee for Sears that signed mortgages that were issued, and this record is for the parcel that the Avondale was built on. The mortgage was issued on July 21, 1919 and construction usually started immediately with Sears Houses, but I’m not sure if that was the case with this one. Jacob Waldvogel, who got the original mortgage, wasn’t living in the house in the 1920 Census or the 1921 City Directory. I did finally find him living there in the 1923 Directory and he was listed as a Carpenter, so that might mean he built this beautifully detailed home himself!

How cool is that?

Jacob was listed as a machinist in the 1930 Census, living in the home with his wife, daughter and father- in- law. All three adults were immigrants. I have seen many Sears mortgages written to immigrants and women, something that local banks weren’t always willing to do.

The Waldvogel family retained ownership of the home until 1986, when Jacob’s daughter, Adele, sold it.

The MLS listing I found for the house was from 2020, and comparing my current photos with the ones taken by the Realtor then, I am sure the house has a great new owner. The wide front porch has loads of hanging baskets and flower pots, and I was given permission by the owner’s family to get a few photos of the house. My thanks.

Sears Avondale on Maple Ave., in Hamilton, Ohio

I consider these short triple pillars the signature of a Sears Avondale. The ones on this house are in great condition.

Here’s a couple more photos from the 2020 MLS listing that show off the beautiful woodwork in the home.

Photo from MLS listing

Photo from MLS listing

And of course, since it’s Ohio, the Heart of it All and the Heart of Sears Houses, I spotted a Sears Somerset just about across the street from the Avondale, that we didn’t have on our list.

Sears Somerset on Maple Ave. in Hamilton, Ohio

I also got photos of a Sears Lebanon, that we already knew about, also on Maple Ave.

Sears Lebanon on Maple Ave., in Hamilton , Ohio

I could go on…… but I won’t. You’ll just have to check back occasionally and see if I have posted anything new. And as we all know by now, that isn’t happening very often!

Thanks for following along.