Sears Hamilton in Ypsilanti, Michigan

As owners of a Sears "Hamilton" kit house, we are always interested in seeing other examples of this model. The very first Sears Roebuck house we went hunting for was another "Hamilton" so we could compare our house against one just like it. Fortunately for us, there are a fair number of examples of the "Hamilton" in some of the communities near us. One of those "Hamiltons" is currently for sale. It's a very nice example of the model finished in brick and the real estate photos give us a chance to check out the interior and exterior of the house. Let's take a look!

The Sears "Hamilton" was one of the more popular models sold by Sears Roebuck. It first appeared in the "Modern Homes" catalog in 1921 and continued to be featured through 1931. While minor changes were made to the exterior and interior floor plan of the house, the design of the Hamilton was largely unchanged over the 10 years that Sears offered it to customers.

Catalog image of Sears Hamilton (1931)

The national database of Sears homes has over 150 examples of the Hamilton listed. One of the communities within driving distance of our home, Ypsilanti, Michigan, has at least 5 Hamiltons and of those 5, four of them have been authenticated with mortgages from Sears Roebuck. The example of the Hamilton we're sharing today is unusual in that the exterior is finished in brick. While this isn't the only example we know of like this - one of our fellow kit house researchers owns a Hamilton finished in brick - it's uncommon going by all the examples of Hamiltons that we've seen to date.

202 N Wallace Blvd - Ypsilanti, Michigan - Sears Hamilton
Image courtesy of Zillow

This house, like our Hamilton in Novi, Michigan, has a reversed floor plan. You can see how the front porch of the house is on the left hand side of the house as compared to the right hand side of house in the standard floor plan.  By reversing the floor plan, this orientation allows the living areas of the house - living room, dining room and kitchen - to have a southern exposure for natural light.

202 N Wallace Blvd - Ypsilanti, Michigan - Sears Hamilton
Image courtesy of Zillow

From this angle, you can see how the house still retains the original porch elements including the porch railings.

202 N Wallace Blvd - Ypsilanti, Michigan - Sears Hamilton
Image courtesy of Zillow

This view of the house shows the distinctive hipped roof dormer on the dining room bump out. This design element is specific to the Hamilton and helps distinguish it from the similarly designed Starlight which also has a hipped roof dormer on the front of the house.

202 N Wallace Blvd - Ypsilanti, Michigan - Sears Hamilton
Image courtesy of Zillow

Inside the house, you can see the distinctive pattern of the fireplace that matches what you'll find in our Sears Hamilton. Here's a view of our fireplace - different style of brick but same pattern.

This view across the dining room shows the window bench seat that sits inside the bump-out on the side of the house.

202 N Wallace Blvd - Ypsilanti, Michigan - Sears Hamilton
Image courtesy of Zillow

From the kitchen, you can see the breakfast nook at the back of the house, another element that helps distinguish the Hamilton from the Sears Starlight.

202 N Wallace Blvd - Ypsilanti, Michigan - Sears Hamilton
Image courtesy of Zillow

On the door to the back stairway, you can see an example of the "Stratford" hardware that was often found in Sears kit houses. The following image highlights some examples of the "Stratford" design.

Sears Stratford Hardware - Image courtesy of Catarina Bannier

Details like finding hardware from Sears in houses that match models from Sears help us to properly identify these houses. Here's some more "Stratford" hardware on the doors in one of the bedrooms.

202 N Wallace Blvd - Ypsilanti, Michigan - Sears Hamilton
Image courtesy of Zillow

In the case of this house, we were able to authenticate this house as it had a mortgage from Sears Roebuck to finance the purchase of the house. It's pretty clear that this house matches the "Hamilton" design and has details from Sears like the door hardware and the fireplace design. But it's the mortgage record that allows us to say definitively that this house is a kit house from Sears Roebuck.

If you think you've found an example of the Sears Hamilton (or any other kit house), share it with us in the comments!