Sears Houses in Richland County

Every Winter, after the busy Holiday Season, I make an attempt to find newly digitized records that will lead to train loads of Sears Houses. 

Some Winters I find them. Some not. Over the years I’ve found records in Ohio and Pennsylvania and New York that led to lots of new houses for our growing list of Sears Homes across the United States.

This year, I stumbled across mortgage record index books for Richland County, right here in Ohio! For those of you that aren’t familiar, the Richland County seat is Mansfield, which is about halfway between Columbus and Cleveland off I-71. 

Since mortgage records are my favorite way to track down Sears Houses, finding those index books on their County Recorder’s website was a like a late Christmas gift.

It took a couple of weeks to go through all the books since they were indexed by the borrower, not the lender, but that’s OK. It was fortunate that the dates for the books were almost exactly what I needed to research for Sears, Roebuck mortgages, which were offered from about 1912 to 1934. The Richland County books covered 1914 to 1935, so there weren’t a lot of pages I didn’t need to review, which can really slow down the whole process.

And…….you could actually read the handwriting! That doesn’t happen all the time.

In Ohio, the mortgages from Sears, Roebuck were recorded under the names of their Trustees, which were Walker O. Lewis from 1912 until late 1929, then E. Harrison Powell, from 1929 until Sears ended mortgages about 1933. We have found a few mortgages that were recorded in 1934, but those are pretty rare. In other states, we find different Trustees. We have a good idea where the boundaries were for the different Trustees, but we do find some overlap.

For Richland County, the oldest recorded mortgage I was able to find was dated April 24, 1919, and the last recorded mortgage was dated Oct 21, 1933. There were 60 recorded mortgages, but a few of them were “Junior mortgages” which is what we call a second mortgage today, and a few were mortgages that were refinanced by Sears at a later date than the original. This happened occasionally when people took one of the short term mortgages Sears offered, usually a 5 year note with a balloon payment at the end. If you couldn’t manage that last large payment, Sears would help you out by refinancing the balance due.

Of the 60 recorded mortgages, I was able to identify 33 homes that matched models that Sears offered in their Modern Homes catalogs. 11 had been demolished over the years, due to road expansions, general commercial development, and a few just due to neglect by owners. Some of the houses I identified we already had on our Master List of Sears Homes across the United States, but many were new, which makes the whole mortgage research project really fun! And of the ones we already had spotted, it is always good to be able to document them.

Like this wonderful example of a Sears Ashland in Shelby, Ohio, a small city northwest of Mansfield.

Sears Ashland, 107 Mansfield Ave., Shelby, Ohio – originally financed through Sears in the amount of $5,550 in 1927. (Photo from Google Maps)

Next door to this Ashland is what appears to be a Sears Dover model, but I didn’t find a recorded mortgage for that home.

Side by side Sears Houses in Shelby, Ohio.

One of the questions that comes up a lot when I give presentations, is “Did Sears sell brick houses?” The answer is yes! At least, they sold ones with a brick facade. The framing would still be lumber, usually cut to the correct lengths at a Sears owned lumber mill, but the finish brick would have been purchased locally.

Here is a brick version of the Sears Barrington that had recorded mortgages of $7200 in 1928.

Sears Barrington finished in brick. 1140 Lexington Ave., Mansfield, Ohio ( photo from Google Maps )

Researchers can easily get confused about this style of home, as not only did Sears sell it, but several of the other kit house companies did too, with minor differences. That’s why documenting is so important.

Another reason why doing mortgage research is a great way for me to find houses, is because even after 15 years, I will still drive right by some models and not recognize them as being from Sears.

Like this Sears Estes, one of the “Standard Built” designs, which were more economical because they required less lumber. The Estes didn’t even have a bathroom! Sears did sell a kit for an outhouse as well. I’m sure the addition on the back has allowed for a modern bathroom now.

Sears Estes, 870 Lenox Ave., Mansfield, Ohio. Originally mortgaged through Sears, Roebuck for $1200 in 1928. (Photo from Richland County Auditor website)

One thing that always makes my heart happy is when local Historical groups have interest in their Sears Houses. The Richland County Historical Society not only is interested, and cares about these houses, they own one!

Sears Fullerton, 334 Oak Hill Pl., Mansfield, Ohio, owned by the Richland County Historical Society. Originally mortgaged through Sears, Roebuck for $3500 in 1924. It’s turning 100 this year! This Fullerton was built reversed from the catalog listing, an option Sears offered at no charge for most models. Note the plaque on the left side porch pillar detailing the house history.

The house below looks a lot like the Sears Fullerton. In fact, for many years, I wasn’t even aware that an alternate floor plan for a different Sears model so closely resembled it. Now, I try to remember that the Sears Gladstone had a second floor plan that was never pictured in the catalogs, but did have a floor plan illustration showing the window and door placement.

Here’s a Sears Gladstone ( B plan ) that was originally mortgaged through Sears for $4400 in 1929.

Sears Gladstone ( B plan ), 520 Wood St., Mansfield, Ohio

The largest dollar amount I found in the Richland County mortgages was for a house we already knew about. In fact it was a model home and well advertised in the Mansfield News on Dec. 18, 1930.

The house was mortgaged through Sears, Roebuck for $13,000 on June 10, 1930.

This photo image of the house from the 2012 Google Maps street view shows the house in good repair, but unfortunately the last few years it has deteriorated and needs a lot of attention now. I hope it isn’t too late for this customized Sears Glen Falls.

Sears Glen Falls, 55 Wellington Ave., Mansfield, Ohio. ( Photo from 2012 Google Maps street view )

The last Sears mortgage in Richland County I found, dated Oct. 21, 1933 was a bit of a puzzle when I located it using the legal description then found the address.

893 Park Ave., West, Mansfield, Ohio.

What the heck was this? I started to think it was a Custom designed house that was never offered in the catalogs, until I checked the side view.

Ha! Now I’ve got it! The house is on a corner lot, and while the address is for Park Ave., West, the house actually faces the side street, Glenbeck Ln. Another instance of the house being built reversed from the catalog listing.

Sears Richmond, 893 Park Ave., West, Mansfield, Ohio.

The Richmond had a bay window off the back of the house in the Dining Room, and that feature can be seen in the Park Ave. view of the house, even though it does have an addition next to it now.

This is just a small sampling of the Sears Houses in the Mansfield area. Working on the mortgage records for Richland County led to some interesting homes, and a few additional surprises, which I will share soon.

Thanks for following along.