Plunkettsville
Exploring Story Maps to illustrate historic buildings and character of the Staunton West End neighborhood, Plunkettsville
What is Plunkettsville?
A Brief History
In 1880, "Plunkettsville" a small suburb lay on the outskirts of Staunton, Virginia. First mentioned in Virginian newspapers in 1880, the term "Plunkettsville" appeared 155 times between 1880 and 1921. These references often provided routine mailing information for Plunkettsville residents, though several events that occurred in the town were notable enough to garner attention from larger Virginian newspapers. In Plunkettsville lived a family of masons, the Plunketts, who owned a business named "I.H. Plunkett & Son". According to city maps and records, Plunkettsville originally remained outside the boundaries of Staunton, often described by local journalists as "a city," "a city-suburb" or a place "on the suburbs of Staunton".
By the early 20th century, the city of Staunton incorporated Plunkettsville into its city limits, making the small suburb less distinguishable as a community. Today, most residents of Staunton are unfamiliar with Plunkettsville, its history, and where it is now.
Below is a brief history of the suburb as told by a local newspaper:
- In 1891 the Staunton and Monterey mail carrier traveled to Plunkettsville as one of the locations on their mail route.
- In 1894 Plunkettsville was distinguished as one of five locations to which Staunton provided mail services.
- In 1895, amidst a smallpox outbreak, Plunketsville refused to quarantine itself from the city of Staunton while neighboring towns at the time did.
- In 1896 Plunketsville's relationship with Staunton was described as: "As New York City with Brooklyn attached will be called Greater New York, so will Staunton with Plunkettsville attached be called Greater Staunton."
- In 1897 the Odd Fellows Lodge of Staunton and Plunkettsville (also known as the Odd Fellows Lodge of Lewiston) was founded and mentioned several times in subsequent newspapers. Three years later the female counterpart to the Odd Fellows Lodge, the “Rebekah Lodge,” was founded.
- In 1901 the newspaper recorded that “the post office at Plunkettsville, a city suburb, has been abolished, and the district annexed to the Staunton office.” From that point on, a rural carrier delivered mail to the citizens of Plunkettsville.
- In 1902 there was talk of establishing a company for the purpose of piping water to Plunkettsville and Lewiston.
- In 1910, citizens of Plunkettsville and North Augusta Street joined together to advocate for a fire-fighting force.
The Plunkettsville Namesake: Who were the Plunketts?
It has been presumed that the name of the area "Plunkettsville" comes from the Plunkett family name. On the left, this 1880 map highlights the properties of J.H. Plunkett, L.H. Plunkett, and I.H. Plunkett & Son. According to Confederate Company roll records, three Plunketts from the Staunton area enlisted in the army as privates. In 1861, John H. Plunkett (26) and Lysander H. Plunkett (20) enrolled in the army. A year later, William A. Plunkett (17) joined as well. All three Plunketts were listed as masons, distinguishing themselves from the common occupation of "farmer." In 1862, Lysander H. Plunkett of the "Augusta Greys," sustained a wound in battle, though continued serving and fought in the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.
Of these three Plunkett men, John H. Plunkett was mentioned most frequently in local newspapers. After his time in the Confederate Army, he placed advertisements in newspapers from 1863 until 1864 stating that he was looking to rent a farm for a year or longer. He offered to pay rent or pay by sharing a portion of the crops he produced. Later in 1878, city records indicate that John owned multiple lots in western Staunton. He also remained an active member of the political scene, as he ran as a candidate in multiple elections though had varied success. In 1883 for instance, he served as a Justice on the county court for Peaco's Mill in Beverly Manor. By one newspaper article, he was referred to as a "readjustor politician," which referred to the short-lived Virginian political party that aimed to "readjust" the state's debt to focus more on funding schools and publically-owned facilities. The Readjustor party also strove to repeal poll taxes which actively suppressed voting by Black people and poor whites of society.
Within Staunton, J.H. Plunkett owned his own carpentry shop and held recognition as a notable building contractor. In 1885, Plunkett accepted a contract to aid in the construction of a 3-story storehouse across the street from the Staunton Court House. In that same year, however, John H. Plunkett died in an accident after his horses were spooked by an oncoming rain on his way home. At the time, a local newspaper wrote that the funeral had extensive attendance, including those he employed because he was an "active and kind citizen".
Following his death, a relative assumed control of John's carpentry business, and worked side-by-side with another contractor, R.S. Clark, the owner of a Plunkettsville-based business called "R. S. Clark Brick Works". Later in 1888, Plunkett and Clark were chosen to build a new school for Black children.
The Historic Architecture of Plunkettsville
History of Kit Homes
What is a Kit Home?
Throughout the turn of the 20th century, mail-order catalogs were used to advertise a plethora of goods, from sewing machines to cooking stoves and home decor, consumers looked to these catalogs for the solution to many of their problems. At a time when most families could not afford to buy large, expensive homes, kit houses became a popular way for families to customize their homes. Land developers were also invested in the kit home business model, as they could create neighborhoods and affordable housing through economic means. Home buyers ordered kit homes from a catalog, then paid for them through the mail. Most people picked their homes up from the closest train depot as they were sent by rail anywhere across the country. Manufacturers advertised kit homes as homes with simple building plans and offered options on how to customize the house through floor plan changes, specific fixtures, or materials.
Kit homes were also available in a variety of sizes and designs, from small cabins to large extensive estates. Assembly kits usually included pre-cut lumber, hardware, paint, and other necessary supplies. Manufacturers did not include things like concrete or brick for foundations, as those needed to be locally sourced because it was costly to deliver by rail. For the erection of a kit home, hired contractors were an option though by building the home by oneself, it was more affordable and allowed for further customization.
Who were the Manufacturers?
These homes were advertised as early as 1830 during the Gold Rush of the American West and achieved widespread popularity through mail-order catalogs in the early 1900s. There were several mail-order home manufacturers, including Sears, Hodson, Alladin Homes, Montgomery Ward, and Roebuck & Company. Between 1912 and 1916, a highly-influential American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright designed kit homes for the American System-Built Houses program to make affordable housing widely available. While Wright attempted to make the construction of single-family homes more affordable, Sears searched for a way to increase the number of sales in their home-building department. The pre-fabricated home became the solution to both problems.
The Rise in Popularity
The kit home fits nicely into the American Dream of the 1900s which emphasized home-owning as the epitome of citizenship. Shopping for a kit home afforded buyers the opportunity to make their dream a reality. Sears and Roebuck & Company alone offered 370 different models of homes between 1908 and 1940. Sears advertised that a house could be built in just 90 days, making home ownership attainable for much of the working and middle class.
Prospective buyers browsed the catalog for floor plans, accent pieces, and kits, picking out every detail of the house. This could be as small as a lighting fixture or adding windows. By personally furnishing their new homes, they created a standard for single-family living and drove sales for the company.
Real estate developers recognized the cost-benefits of kit homes as they could save money on labor costs and retain a higher margin of profits. In many neighborhoods created by the industry, companies built homogenous homes, often reversing floor plans, adding dormers, and creating just a few differences to make each house slightly different from the one next door. The simple construction plans used building techniques such as balloon framing, that allowed for swift builds across myriad projects.
With the rise of working and middle-class populations, more people had the opportunity to buy a home. At the same time, federal housing regulations were imbued with Jim Crow-era statutes, often passing over prospective Black home-buyers and newly settled immigrants for mortgage loans. Although, kit home manufacturers attempted to make home ownership available to anyone as they presented their own financing options. Sears and Roebuck & Co., two of the most well-known manufacturers, offered different payment plans with low-interest rates and established their own farm-lean program. Their applications did not contain a race or ethnicity section, ensuring that it was not a barrier to securing a loan. Such payment plans gave people the chance to own a better house because they did not have to pay for a home in full nor did they have to deal with the high-interest rates of loans from banking institutions. In addition, loans typically incorporated the cost of the land, bundling the payment into one large loan.
Following the Financing
Due to structural changes occurring in Staunton, securing financing for homes was difficult. Despite the popularity of building and loan associations run by kit home manufacturers, the Arlington Mortgage Company was formed as a bank available for lenders. Its formation came in the wake of company-wide decisions made by Sears and Roebuck & Co. during World War II.
The Fall
The Great Depression placed a major strain on kit home manufacturers because it started a trend of higher loans to value ratio. These high loans were often not feasible for a single family, as inflated prices would economically debilitate a family. Companies such as Sears and Roebuck & Co., lost millions of dollars as orders dwindled and had stockpiled inventory rotting away in their warehouses.
In 1933, Sears and Roebuck & Co. stopped offering home financing programs which decreased their sales further. During this period of economic depression, people were distrustful of banks and were thus uninterested in purchasing a home if their loans had to be from a bank. Some customers felt that the companies were trying to force them to use the bank's mortgaging systems. Public companies were faced with resource restrictions on buildings and real-estate developments. Many businesses faced restrictions on buildings and resources available to the public and construction companies.
With the onset of World War II in 1935, the government began to ration resources and supplies. These restrictions made it nearly impossible to build commercially. The creation of the Federal Housing Administration, FHA, further hampered Sears and Roebuck & Co. sales because it instituted a list of requirements that the construction of homes had to adhere to. Most of the homes that Sears offered already fit the requirements, but it made the construction of homes arduous and time-consuming which negated the purpose of buying a kit home in the first place.
How to Identify a Kit Home
There are some simple ways to see if your home is a kit home, many of which you can do some of them in under 10 minutes!
Here are some of the classic architectural features of Kit Homes
Useful Resources and More Detailed Steps
- When was your home built?
- If your home was built between 1908 and 1935, there is a good chance it is a kit home. An easy way to check the age of your home, you can look at your property records, or you can see when it was built on a city planning book. Below is a link to the Staunton city records of deeds which can give you a start.
- Vision Government Solutions (vgsi.com)
- Find a catalog that corresponds with the year your home was built
- There are only a few internet archives that have the catalogs digitized, below is a link to one that has over 1,500 catalogs from different manufacturers.
- Within this archive, you can do specific searches by manufacturers, dates, material type, and much more! https://archive.org/details/buildingtechnologyheritagelibrary
- Is your lumber stamped?
- When checking these stamps, be careful to see if they look older than more modern stamps.
- Most of the time you can find lumber stamped on the sides that face outward since the stamps served as directions for the construction workers to complete the project.
- There are 3 main areas in your home to find these stamps which are the attic, basement, and crawl spaces of your home. The spaces typically are unfinished and have many of the beams, and floor joists exposed for you to look at.
- Are there shipping labels?
- These labels can provide critical information about your home. They can tell us who built the home, what model, what company, and the date of issue.
- These labels can also be found on certain light fixtures, under the deck, and on the original roof.
- Are there stamps on the crown molding or baseboard?
- Sears and Roebuck & Co. would typically have a small stamp on these decorative pieces since they won't be a major focal point when entering the room. You may have a stamp if you see a small circle with an SR.
- These markings can also be found on other fixtures in the home as well, such as, the bathtub, sink, and back or insides of cabinets.
- Here are some useful links:
- Modern English Style - No. 3031 - 1920s House Plans by the Southern Pine Association (antiquehomestyle.com)
- http://www.antiquehomestyle.com/plans/montgomery-ward/1930/30mw-astoria.htm
- Staunton, Virginia: More Amazing Finds | Sears Modern Homes (searshomes.org)
- https://historicstaunton.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/HSF-Brown-Bag-House-Research.pdf
Examples from the list above
Locations of Kit Homes
Where can We find these Kit Homes?
The Plunketsville area has the highest density of kit homes in the northern part of the area. Most of the kit homes are within a 1.53 square mile area, which poses some questions about the development of the area. When developers bought large areas of the property, they tended to buy these kit homes in bulk to place on the land for families to move in. The same is true for individuals who bought the land themselves. Neighbors would talk about building a home, and in this area, often spoke about kit homes. This communal discussion led to many people ordering houses together to save on shipping costs since they could link orders and have them delivered at the same place and time.
Austin Ave
Built up in early 1915, Austin Ave became home to many delivered kit houses well into the 1930s. Property records and deeds indicate the presence of a developer who took advantage of the ease of ordering and assembling kit homes to move clients in. Other developers bought open plots of land to build homes themselves. This explains Austin Ave's unique look, as classic kit homes were placed beside custom-built houses.
Augusta County sold land across different zoning ordinances, which aided in the development of community ties not only in this area but in the Plunkettsville area. As one of the first areas to be developed, residents have enjoyed the beauty and history of Austin Ave. Community members have attempted to ensure all homes are well-kept so they can preserve the area's small-town charm.
Thompson Street
Located on the eastern side of Plunkettsville, Thompson Street contains the highest density of kit homes. Akin to Austin Ave, the southern half of the street had been bought out by developers, whereas individuals bought the northern part. The presence of kit homes became integral to the formation of a community bond, as they instilled a sense of equality amongst its residents. It is apparent that the community's bond has passed the test of time, as it stands even today.
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