Cool discovery: First Sears kit home built was in Capleville, TN

11 years ago

Okay, I do love, love, love history and old houses, and I recently discovered that one of the VERY first (and likely THE first) Sears kit home was built by Dr. Malone of Capleville, Tennessee.

He wrote a long thank you note to Sears, telling them how much he appreciated the fine lumber.

Just such a cool bit of history. And I wonder if the home's current owners realize that they have one of the first Sears Homes ever built.

And if anyone here is near Capleville (Memphis area), I'd do just about anything to get a contemporary photo of this house. In fact, I'm not even sure it's still standing. It'd be nice to know if this 112 year old house has survived.

Here's a picture of the house as it appeared in the 1908 catalog.

And this is a picture of Dr. Malone's actual house, Sears Modern Home #102. He sent this photo to Sears in early 1909, after the house was complete. This started as 12,000 pieces of house!!!

Floorplan, showing details on the first floor. TWO pantries.

And the letter Dr. Malone sent to Sears.

So, has anyone seen this house? :)

Here is a link that might be useful: More details

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Comments (10)

chloecat
11 years ago
I'd be very surprised if it's still there. Capleville is actually an industrial/shipping area of Memphis now. I've driven through what used to be Capleville dozens of times and don't recall seeing any homes.

Would be great if it has survived, though!
iowagirl2006
11 years ago
Have you read this, Rosemary? It sounds like this is the same house!

Here is a link that might be useful: A COUNTRY DOCTOR THRU THE EYES OF A GRANDDAUGHTER
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marilyn_c
11 years ago
How cool that Iowagirl found that!
rosemaryt
Original Author
11 years ago
Iowagirl, I'm in AWE!!!

Yes, that must be THE Dr. F. M. Malone!

The text (within that link) reads,

"I spent many hours in the swing on the front porch at Mama & Papa's. That way I could see the patients who came to Papa (Dr. F.M. Malone) for any & all their ills. The Dr's office had an entrance off the screened porch, back side. Real often I sneeked around to listen to their complaints."

Thank you so much for finding that!!!

Wow, what a treasure! :)

Now if I could just find a way to contact the current family.

Rose
iowagirl2006
11 years ago
Jeepers - I just googled his name! :)

Fun read though! What a different era.
matthias_lang
11 years ago
I think I have found that the house still exists. I found that in the Capleville area there was a road called "Malone." Knowing that old roads were often named for significant residents on that road, I used Google Maps satellite view to find a house on the west side of Malone, somewhat south of E.Shelby Dr. This house has a basic square shape, with front and back porches shaped like the front porch in your catalog view.

In one satellite view, it appeared to me that the original front stairs are still there. One of the dormers (I think that is what it's called) is still on the roof. The house looks as though it has been otherwise altered.

The home sits back from the road a bit, so if you need to find it again in the future, best to copy my link below.

I have family in that part of the country, including Malones. I do not know of any who were doctors, all of them having been very rural people with little education until after WWII. I'm probably unrelated.

If you not only change the altitude view on Google, but the directional view, I will be surprised if you do not agree with me that this is the house.

One more thing about the area. One of the nearby major streets is called "Getwell". The lore (not sure if it is true history) is that the street was once called "Shotwell" and there was a military hospital during the civil war. It was thought that the name was then too gruesome so the name was changed to sound more optimistic.

Here is a link that might be useful: Malone house in Capleville area of Memphis, TN
sudiepav
11 years ago
This is incredibly cool. We have some Sears homes near us from the '20s.
matthias_lang
11 years ago
Using info on the county tax assessor's records, I can give you the apparent address of the house I linked on Google Maps and also the owners' names. If interested, please tell me how I can contact you. (I do not receive email from GW.)
drewsmaga
11 years ago
I am smiling that the second story has 4 "chambers" (bedrooms) and a "toilet or storeroom!" So, if you didn't have indoor plumbing, you went with the storeroom and and outhouse!
rosemaryt
Original Author
11 years ago
Hi Matthias,

Thanks to that original link that Iowagirl provided, I found a descendant of Dr. Malone and sent him an email. He replied this morning, saying that he was thrilled to learn more about this house and the history behind it.

If you think you know where the house is, please contact me via my website. Just leave a comment there at www.searshomes.org, and that's probably the safest best. :)

I hate putting my email up here, as it results in all manner of spam.

Drewsmaga, I've often wondered the difference between "chambers" and "bedrooms." I was told years ago that chambers were on the first floor and bedrooms were on the second floor.

I don't know if that's true, but it's darn interesting. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: And update on the FM Malone house

Cool discovery: First Sears kit home built was in Capleville, TN

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Cool discovery: First Sears kit home built was in Capleville, TN

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