Another Custom Wardway House in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Image from 1929 Wardway Homes Catalog

Almost a year ago, I shared the discovery of a custom house from Wardway (Montgomery Ward) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Fellow kit house researcher Cindy Catanzaro recognized the design from a catalog image which, along with a mortgage record, helped us to authenticate the house, Earlier this year, I shared another example of the same design that I found in Berkley, Michigan, that was also authenticated with a mortgage record. Now, I've found another example of this house design in Ann Arbor on the same road as the first Ann Arbor house, also with a mortgage record.

The most recent example that I located in Ann Arbor was actually a house that I first found through a mortgage record connecting it to Wardway. In my research of the records of the Washtenaw Abstract Company kept at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan, I had recorded a mortgage from Wardway for this house. At that time, like the other example on Dexter Road in Ann Arbor, I wasn't able to match it to anything I knew from Wardway and set it aside.

1919 Dexter - Ann Arbor, Michigan - Wardway Custom
Image courtesy of Zillow

Recently, I was reviewing my list of "unknown" houses for Ann Arbor and pulled up this address again. This time, I recognized the house immediately as being the same design as the house at 3061 Dexter. While the house at 1919 Dexter is missing a small gable over the front door, it otherwise matches up well with the house one mile to the west. The only element I can't see on this house that is on the other Ann Arbor house and the Berkley house is the small bay window that would be on the right side of the house. If I get a chance to see this house in person, I'll definitely be looking for that element!

Know of any other catalog or kit houses in Ann Arbor or elsewhere? Let us know in the comments!