The Wardway Houses in Poets' Corner (Hartsdale), New York

Cover of Wardway Homes catalog (1930)

In my most recent post about the Sears houses located in the Poets' Corner section of Hartsdale, New York, I noted that based on the USGS maps available from the 1930s, many of the houses that were shown in this section of Hartsdale were homes purchased from Sears Roebuck. Using the USGS maps, I decided to look at the other houses built in Hartsdale Lawns and Hartsdale Manor that were not among the list of 18 known or possible Sears houses. As I used Google Streetview to "drive" around the area, I came across two houses that I recognized. But these houses did not have designs from Sears. Instead, they were designs I recognized as being from one of Sears biggest competitors in the mail order business - Montgomery Ward! Montgomery Ward sold kit houses under the "Wardway" brand name. It's not uncommon to find Wardway houses in close proximity to Sears houses and so I wasn't surprised to see these Wardway houses. I was just surprised that it took me this long to recognize them. Let's take a closer look!

A Return to Poets' Corner (Hartsdale), New York

14 Longfellow St - Hartsdale, New York
Sears Gateshead

Five years ago, I wrote a few posts about the collection of Sears Roebuck kit houses in the Poets' Corner section of Hartsdale, New York. Between 1928 and 1933, at least 17 Sears houses were built in the Hartsdale Lawns and Hartsdale Manor subdivision plats where the streets are named after famous poets. At the time, I was able to document most of the Sears houses located in that area. However, in the intervening years, I've managed to locate and/or authenticate a few additional houses that didn't make it into the original posts about Hartsdale Lawns and Hartsdale Manor. Additionally, I've spotted a couple more houses that might be Sears (or might not) that I'll point out in case more information comes to light about those homes. Let's take (another) look!