MMAGAZINEAGAZINE April 19–May 16, 2019 • One Copy FREE OOCC ORANGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA HHousesouses WithWith HistoryHistory Kit Houses in Orange County PPageage 3 PEOPLE GGardenarden GGuruuru KKentent AAnnualnnual FriedFried OOCSSCSS FFineine RRussellussell ttoo SSpeakpeak CChickenhicken FFestivalestival AArtsrts FairFair PPageage 1100 PPageage 1111 PPageage 1122 COMPANY SHOWCASE Sunday - May 5 (2:00pm) Piedmont Virginia Community College MUSICAL THEATRE SHOWCASE May 15 & 16 (7:00pm) OSPA Firehouse Theatre OSPA SPRING SHOWCASE June 1 (12:00pm & 2:30pm) Orange County High School Auditorium Please call OSPA for ticket OR Company Audition Information! Celebrating our 26th season... OSPA – Where The Arts Come To Life! Call 540-672-9038 Or Visit us at 108 Belleview Ave - Orange, Va Or on the web at www.ospa.net 2• OC Magazine • April 19–May 16, 2019 OC Magazine A monthly publication Houses With History Publisher C. M. Santos [email protected] Kit Houses in Orange County Advertising Director By Barbara Wimble Judi Price Correspondent 434-207-0223 [email protected] Office Manager f you are a fan of HGTV like I Edee Povol am, wherein the complex [email protected] Iworld of homebuilding and decorating is entertainment, you may have heard about prefab houses that Graphic Production Designer were very popular and widely marketed Marilyn Ellinger in the first half of the 20th century. I was first introduced to “Kit Houses” Correspondents when Rose Thornton, considered to be Barbara Wimble the foremost authority on them, gave a Matthew Franks talk for the Historic Staunton Foundation, where I was employed Contributors before moving to Orange. Finding her Pat Wilson lecture fascinating, I caught the “kit house mania” and was excited to iden- E-mail: [email protected] tify my bungalow in Staunton as one of Advertising Sales: them. When I moved to Orange, I con- [email protected] tinued to look for kit houses and during walks around town, began to suspect Mailing Address: P.O. Box 59, that several I saw were these pieces of Palmyra, VA 22963. Americana. I caught the fever again and was challenged to see how many I Office Location: 106 Crofton Plaza, Suite 1, could identify. The venture wasn’t as Palmyra, VA 22963 easy as I thought it would be, but I have The owners of this circa 1914 house found Montgomery Ward labels and markings enjoyed doing the research, exploring on the siding while doing an addition to the house. Photo by Barbara Wimble. Phone: (434) 591-1000 Fax: (434) 589-1704 the neighborhoods, and meeting some very interesting people along the way. The building materials were taken to were usually constructed within one to General: OC Magazine is published monthly by But first, let’s define a kit house. the closest train depot, loaded onto two miles of a train station, and the Valley Publishing Corp. A total of 6,000 copies boxcars, and transported to their desti- roads needed to be adequate to handle are circulated throughout Orange County. One So, what is a Kit House? nation train station. Imagine the excite- the delivery of the materials. copy is free, additional copies are $1 each payable ment of waiting at the station for your Homebuyers could customize their in advance to the publisher. You can buy anything on line today, right? A click on Amazon.com and the house to arrive! As noted in the Sears house by choosing from a variety of Display ad rates: For information including item is shipped to your door. But can archives, “entire homes would arrive by built-in features offered in the catalogs, rates and deadlines call Judi Price at 434-207- you buy a house on line? Believe it or railroad, from the precut lumber, carved including fireplace mantles, shelves, 0223. not, you could buy one through the mail staircases, down to the nails and var- drawers, china cupboards, ironing Subscriptions: Copies will be mailed for the over a century ago. Imagine buying a nish.” The houses arrived in 12,000 boards, breakfast alcoves, French doors, subscription price of $40 per year. Please mail a house from Ikea, having it delivered, pieces with detailed blueprints and a and medicine cabinets. Buyers also check and a note with your name and address to: OC Magazine Subscriptions Dept., P.O. Box 59, and assembling it yourself! When one 75-page instruction book. In some chose their hardware, plumbing, and Palmyra, VA 22963. thinks of kits, toys and models come to cases, a foreman and construction crew lighting fixtures. The house plans even were included in the price, although, included a suggested layout of the furni- Submissions, tips, ideas, etc.: OC mind, but a kit house is a full-size pre- Magazine encourages submissions and tips on fabricated home that could be ordered Sears promised that a “man of average ture, such as where to put the “daven- items of interest to Orange County citizens. abilities” could have the house finished port” (a sofa). Now that’s a term one However we reserve the right to edit submissions from a catalog. as deemed necessary and cannot guarantee they The materials for the houses (and within 90 days! doesn’t hear too often anymore! will be published. OC Magazine will not be responsible for returning submitted materials, other buildings such as garages, sum- At the train station, all of the parts Although not all of the homes were please include S.A.S.E. if you would like items mer cottages, barns, and chicken were loaded onto wagons or trucks to designed with central heating, indoor returned. Please keep Calendar submissions to fifty words or less, Letters to the Editor to 300 coops) were all custom-cut and labeled. be delivered to the site. The kit houses words or less and feature stories to 500 words or See Kit Houses Page 4 less. (Letters to the Editor, Community Calendar, etc.), E-mail [email protected] Classified ads: Classified ads are $10 per month. Please send a written or typed copy of the ad with a The Cover $10 check to: Classifieds Department, P.O. Box 59, Palmyra, VA 22963. You can also email edee@flu- vannareview.com and pay by credit card. Please speci- fy the category it should appear under. Ads must be 30 words or less. Sorry, classifieds will not be taken by phone. Disclaimer: All real estate advertised in this publication is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation, or discrimina- tion because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin…” The Virginia Fair Housing Law also makes it illegal to discriminate because of elderliness (age 55 and over). This publication will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All real estate advertised in this paper is available on an equal opportunity basis. Next Advertising deadline: Wednesday. May 8, 2019 This house in Gordonsville, built circa 1910, is clearly a Sears Arlington © Valley Publishing Corp. 2019. All rights reserved. design. Photo by Barbara Wimble. Cover designed by Marilyn Ellinger. April 19–May 16, 2019 • OC MAGAZINE • 3 KKitit HHousesouses ffromrom ppageage 3 Everyone Deserves A Great Smile... A Brighter Whiter Smile! • Comprehensive Orthodontic Servicess • Accepting New Patients • Full Family Dentistry ZOOM! • Zoom Whitening • Invisalign Teen and Adult • Sleep Apena • Most Dental Insurances Accepted PHILIPS Professional Teeth Whitening • Financing Option Available 34 Jefferson Ct, Zion Crossroads, VA 22942 615 Woodbrook Drive Phone: 540-832-3232 Charlottesville, VA 22901 2019 (Off Rt#15 across from Walmart) Phone: 434-293-9793 www.springcreekdentist.com www.cvilleteeth.com UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE JAMES MADISON MUSEUM This charming Lynnhaven was built in 1930 in the town of Orange. Sunday, April 14 Photo by Barbara Wimble. at 3:00 PM plumbing, and electricity, these conveniences were all new developments in home Book Talk & Signing design incorporated by these early prefab houses. Kit houses offered lower costs and faster and easier on-site construction. There Philip Bigler has done it again; were models to accommodate any size family, budget, or individual taste. Like Henry a beautifully presented and Ford’s mass production of Model T’s, kit houses revolutionized access to homes in thoroughly, thoughtfully America by making them more affordable for a larger segment of society. researched book on this revered National Monument Sears – The Amazon of its Day as it approaches its 100th Sears, Roebuck and Co. was founded in Chicago in 1886 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck. At that time, mail order companies were being formed, anniversary in 2021. and marketing of goods by mail became possible with the expansion of the railroad and rural postal delivery. Sears joined these two great networks, and by 1896, every Saturday. May 4 homestead in America became within reach of the mail. The Sears catalog quickly from 9:00 AM- 5:00 PM became popular, and at one time, one-fi fth of the country subscribed. Come and help the Museum The catalog offered a range of products, including sewing machines, sporting celebrate Spring in Virginia and goods, musical instruments, saddles, fi rearms, buggies, bicycles, baby carriages, all things gardening. Activities clothing, and farm products from cream separators to plows. (I’ve been told that my will include plant sale, merchant grandmother ordered her corsets from the Sears catalog.) Imagine the excitement of vendors, educational fl ipping through the four-pound, 1,400 page catalog of more than 100,000 items, all demonstrations, museum tours, of which could be delivered to your door! raffl e, rummage sale, face Many of us remember, as I do as a child, pouring over the Sears catalog for painting, children’s activities, and Christmas ideas.