McClure Dutch Colonial in Ann Arbor, Michigan

1752 Jackson Ave - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Michigan was home to three of the largest kit house companies - Aladdin, Lewis and Sterling - all based in Bay City, Michigan. Saginaw, Michigan, located upriver from Bay City, was the home of one of the smaller kit house manufacturers, the McClure Company. McClure isn't well known, even among kit house researchers. One reason for that is the short period that McClure sold homes - less than 10 years - from 1917 - 1926. Another is that very little information is available about the McClure homes and the homes that they sold. In my research, I've only seen 3 copies of catalogs for McClure homes. But through various sources, I've been able to track down a number of examples of homes from McClure, a couple of which I’ve previously shared here. The latest is this McClure Dutch Colonial that is currently for sale in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

McClure Homes - A Timeline

The McClure Company sold kit houses to customers in the Midwest and Eastern United States. Examples of homes from McClure have been documented in at least six states and Washington DC. Newspaper ads and articles imply that McClure houses were built in other states but examples from those states have not yet been documented.

The McClure Company was based in Saginaw, Michigan. It had an established history in the lumber and manufacturing business prior to entering the kit house manufacturing business. Nationally, McClure was best known for silos that they marketed and sold to farmers in the United States. Located upriver from Bay City, Michigan, the home of three of the largest kit house manufacturers - Aladdin, Lewis and Sterling - McClure appeared to use its experience in the lumber, mail order and manufacturing business to sell kit houses from 1917 to around 1926. In addition to its headquarters in Saginaw, McClure appears to have used its mill in Cairo for fulfilling orders. That facility predated McClure entrance to the housing business.