Did you know that in the early twentieth century you could order all the parts to build an entire house from the Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogue? Kit houses date back to the 1850s, but were most popular between 1910 and 1940. Mail-order homes and building plans played an important role in shaping the concept of middle-class housing, and sales catalogues from Sears, Roebuck & Co., Montgomery Ward, and other companies conveyed information about single-family housing standards and design to a national audience.

Using Burlington as a case study, Devin Colman, State Architectural Historian at the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, presents a virtual program discussing the history of kit houses, how to identify a kit house, and why they remain relevant today.

To register for this program, please visit: https://my.historicnewengland.org/11338/kit-house