By William “Skip” Deegans
While Rainelle is well known for its kit homes that were sold by Sears Roebuck & Co., it also has a very rare “ready-cut” home that was sold by the Montgomery Ward. Company (see photograph). This six-bedroom home is located in the east end of Rainelle. Sears was the leader in kit home sales, but Montgomery Ward under the brand Wardway sold about 50,000 kit homes from 1909 until 1931. Kit homes are usually found in towns with railways as the homes were commonly delivered in a box car. The homeowner had only a few days to unload the kit. Homes were turn-key, including the nails and paint.
Montgomery Ward kits were manufactured by the Gordon Van Tine Company. Most of the profits came from the financing. Montgomery Ward offered a 15-year loan at 6% interest on 75% of the cost of the home and lot. Sears continued selling kit homes until 1940, and by then it had sold about 70,000.
Sources: The Houses That Sears Built and Montgomery Ward’s Mail-Order Homes – both by Rosemary Thornton.
