[PW] stone house kits

[Erica Cathers]

Pam,

Short answer--I found out about many structures that used stones from every state, but not kit homes specifically.

  a.. Altar of the Nation at Cathedral of the Pines
  b.. Walk of the States at the Little White House, Warm Springs, GA
  c.. Fireplace of the States in Bemidji, MN
  d.. Fireplace in Gene Stratton-Porter's house (author of Girl of the Limberlost)
  e.. The Little Stone House in CT
  f.. Stone Map of the U.S. at the Star Spangled Flag House, Baltimore, MD (can't be seen at the moment; needs restoration)
  g.. Stone Pillars in Orenaug Park, Woodbury, CT
  h.. and then there's the Washington Monument
As far as kit houses, I emailed Rebecca Hunter at www.kithouse.org, who seems to have studied kit houses pretty thoroughly. Here's her reply:

"A very few of the mail order homes (8 out of about 1800) were pictured in the catalog faced in ornamental concrete block. Masonry materials were not provided by mail order home companies, but obtained locally. Therefore, a buyer would be free to use any kind of masonry desired, including stones from afar - but I have not heard any stories like that."

There are several books out about the history of kit houses, maybe read through a few of those? (I don't have any at my disposal.)

Erica Cathers
Gloucester City Public Library (NJ)


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pam Rider" <tsktsk at tns.net>
To: <list at project-wombat.org>
Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 12:52 PM
Subject: [PW] stone house kits


>I accept that I may be dealing with a distorted memory (or a granddad 
> who loved to exaggerate).
> 
> I very much remember that my Kansas farmer granddad bragged that their 
> house had a stone in it from each of the states of the US: then 48. As a 
> really neat idea, I certainly remembered it.
> 
> I was telling a friend the story one day and my mother (now also gone) 
> said, "Oh. It was no big deal. The stones for the house were available 
> as a kit."
> 
> A current friend was charmed by the story. But, I could find no record 
> of houses of stones from the 48 states on the Internet.
> 
> Is this a family "urban legend"?
> -- 
> Best,
> Pam Rider
> http://users.tns.net/~pamrider/
> http://tinyurl.com/4bz8w
> Trying to walk cheerfully on the Earth
> 
> 
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