Sears Houses of Poets' Corner (Hartsdale), New York - Hartsdale Manor

77 Holmes Ave - Hartsdale, NY -  Sears Lynnhaven
Image courtesy of Google Maps

My recent discovery of a possible Sears Gateshead happened as I was tracking down houses with Sears mortgages in the Hartsdale area of Westchester County, New York. Hartsdale is an unincorporated part of the Town of Greenburgh that has developed its own identity in part because it has its own post office and railroad station.

Hartsdale appeared on my radar when I discovered that there were a number of houses that were financed through Sears that were built in the Hartsdale area. Most of these houses were built in an area of Hartsdale known as Poets' Corner. Poets' Corner gets its name from the naming of the local streets after prominent poets including Keats, Milton, Poe and Shaw. Poets' Corner is primarily made up of the Hartsdale Lawns and Hartsdale Manor subdivision plats. Today, we'll explore the Sears houses of Hartsdale Manor.

Hartsdale Manor makes up the southern portion of the Poets' Corner area of Hartsdale. As you can see from this map, this subdivision is made up of a handful of streets extending south of Secor Road.

Hartsdale Manor - Poets' Corner
Image courtesy of Google Maps

In this area, I was able to locate 5 different houses that were financed through Sears that match known Sears models. In addition to those 5 houses, I found another house that matches a Sears model and a house that may be a Sears kit house. Let's explore the houses of Hartsdale Manor.

9 Milton St - Hartsdale, NY - Sears Bellewood
Image courtesy of Google Maps

9 Milton St - Hartsdale, NY - Sears Bellewood
Image courtesy of Google Maps

Image of Sears Bellewood (1932)

Image courtesy of Archive.org

You can see this Sears Bellewood has a reversed floor plan and an expanded footprint. I don't know whether this addition to the house is original or not but it's nicely integrated into the home. I've seen several examples of Bellewoods finished in brick so this exterior treatment is likely original to the house. This house had a mortgage for $6,000 with Sears trustee Edwards D. Ford.

221 South Poe St - Hartsdale, NY - Sears Homewood
Image courtesy of Google Maps

221 South Poe St - Hartsdale, NY - Sears Homewood
Image courtesy of Google Maps

Catalog image of Sears Homewood (1932)
Image courtesy of Sears Archives

The Sears Homewood is one of those Sears models that I don't see very often. Without the mortgage information, I might have gone right past this one. This house had two mortgage for a total of $7,800 with Sears trustee Edwards D. Ford.

77 Holmes Ave - Hartsdale, NY -  Sears Lynnhaven
Image courtesy of Google Maps

77 Holmes Ave - Hartsdale, NY -  Sears Lynnhaven
Image courtesy of Google Maps

Catalog image of Sears Lynnhaven (1935)
Image courtesy of Antique Home

This Sears Lynnhaven is one of two Sears houses on Holmes Avenue. Sears also sold another model, the Belmont, that is almost identical to the Lynnhaven but is primarily finished with face brick. Because the second story of this house is primarily finished with siding and not face brick, I've decided that this is likely a Lynnhaven. Either way, it's a Sears kit house as it was financed through Sears for $7,500 with Sears trustee Edwards D. Ford.

51 Holmes Ave - Hartsdale, NY - Sears Dover
Image courtesy of Google Maps

51 Holmes Ave - Hartsdale, NY - Sears Dover
Image courtesy of Google Maps

Catalog image of Sears Dover (1935)
Image courtesy of Antique Home

I haven't found a Sears mortgage for the house at 51 Holmes Avenue. But it's clearly a match for the Sears Dover. Hopefully, further research will allow us to authenticate this house as a Sears house as I've been able to authenticate the other homes with Sears mortgages.
Update (1/16/2017): I've been able to match this Sears Dover to a Sears mortgage so this house is also authenticated!

631 Secor - Hartsdale, NY - Sears Hawthorne
Image courtesy of Google Maps (2013)

Catalog image of Sears Hawthorne (1932)
Image courtesy of Archive.org

631 Secor - Hartsdale, NY - Sears Hawthorne
Image courtesy of Google Maps (2007)

This was the most challenging house to identify. I had never seen a Sears Hawthorne "in the wild" and as you can see from the 2013 view of the house, it's been changed in some ways that make it less easy to identify. Fortunately, some older views of the house helped reveal the distinctive entrance on the house. That view paired with a Sears mortgage for $7,900 between John R. and Anna B. Schmidt and Sears trustee Edwards D. Ford help authenticate this as a Sears kit house.

689 Secor - Hartsdale, NY - Sears Mitchell
Image courtesy of Google Maps

689 Secor - Hartsdale, NY - Sears Mitchell
Image courtesy of Google Maps

Catalog image of Sears Mitchell (1932)
Image courtesy of Archive.org

Only a few distinctive elements remain of the original design of this Sears Mitchell with a reversed floor plan at 689 Secor. But those elements paired with a Sears mortgage for $6,000 with Sears trustee Edwards D. Ford helped confirm the identification of this as a Sears Mitchell. 

15 Bryant - Hartsdale, NY - Possible Sears Claremont/Riverside
Image courtesy of Bing Maps

15 Bryant - Hartsdale, NY - Possible Sears Claremont/Riverside
Image courtesy of Bing Maps

Catalog image of Sears Claremont (1932)

Image courtesy of Archive.org

The final house is this house at 15 Bryant in Hartsdale Manor. As you can see from the photos, this house has been greatly expanded from its original size. In the first photo, you can even see the line in the roof where the original house ends and the addition starts. Is this house a Sears Claremont/Riverside (same house design)? Perhaps! It's a pretty good match. But at this point, we don't have any information that helps us rule this house in or out as a Sears kit house. I hope that we'll hear from the people of Hartsdale Manor with more information about these homes. 

Update: I authenticated some additional houses in Hartsdale Manor!

Scottish Poet Robert Burns
Image courtesy of Wikipedia