This vintage craftsman home was built in 1926 with a Sears Roebuck Catalog Home kit, delivered to Havre de Grace by train. It was ordered and constructed by Stirling Willan (1898-1981) and his wife, Hilda, whom he married in 1919. They raised four children in this house and Stirling Willan became a Lt. Col. in the Army, serving in WWII.

Between 1908 and 1940 Sears Roebuck sold about 75,000 homes with 370 different designs by mail order in all 48 states, several in Havre de Grace. The owner would select a model from a catalog and once the order was placed, two boxcars containing around 25 tons of materials, more than 30,000 parts, 750 lbs of nails, along with a 75-page instruction book were shipped directly to the purchaser. The pre-cut lumber and instructions meant that only an “elementary understanding of construction techniques” was needed to erect the house—“something a good handyman could do for less than $1,000.” Sears houses built after 1916 have stamped lumber elements that could be found in attics or basements. Pictures of some models are listed online at: http://arts-crafts.com/archive/sears/, but many homes have since been modified.

After the death of Stirling Willan in 1981 and Hilda in 1993, the property was sold by their surviving children, having owned it for 55 years. Owners for the next seven years were Christopher and Ruth Cassilly Carlson who then sold it to Glenn Woerner and Mary Phelps Woerner. The Woerners made this their home for the next 10 years—until 2013.

The home was bought by out-of-town Jeffery Spencer Brauer in 2013, for whom his attorney sold the home in 2019 to John and Jean Lewis, renovated with a new master suite with dressing area, gardens with fire pit, and large front porch. They also live out of town.

County Records
Built 1926. 1722 sq ft, 3 beds, 2 baths, 1.5 stories, finished basement, 12,000 sq ft lot.