Many people are familiar with the homes that were shown in old Sears/Roebuck catalogs and shipped in pieces, but as far as I know, none of these homes exist in Santa Barbara. We do, however, have more than 100 similar local catalog homes that were produced by a Los Angeles company: Pacific Ready-Cut Homes.
Homes offered by catalog companies — Sears and other companies around the United States — began at about the same time that Henry Ford started producing cars on assembly lines. In some ways, these developments were related. Cars allowed people to move from apartments in city centers to neighborhoods where they could own their own home. Catalog companies owned lumber yards with machines that could cut lumber much faster than contractors in the years before there were many power tools.
Communities encouraged homeownership. Homeowners were believed to be better citizens than renters. In 1925, discussing what was called the Better Homes in America movement, Mrs. John D. Sherman, president general of the Federation of Women’s Clubs, wrote in the local paper, “The sense of ownership is the important thing to me in a home. To know that the things about me and the four walls that I live in are really my own, is one of the greatest joys home offers. For that reason, I believe that when there is an opportunity for a family to set up for itself in its own home, it should do so as long as financial considerations are favorable to such a step.