Pantagraph.com Weather forecast, local radar and more
NewsSaturday, September 6, 2008 7:21 PM CDT
Comments Comments (0) | E-mail this page E-mail this page | Print this page Print this page | Enlarge type Enlarge type | Reduce type Reduce type | Search archives Search archives | RSS RSS feeds | Add to My Yahoo! Add to My Yahoo!
Prefabricated homes prized in postwar years
By Bill Kemp
Archivist/Librarian
McLean County Museum of History
Advertisement

Though lacking in obvious charm, the prefabricated home was a workhorse of the postwar era. In the years after World War II, first-time homeowners, especially veterans with growing families, turned to these “factory built” or “ready cut” homes for their share of the American Dream. | From Our Past page

Going by no nonsense names such as Gunnison, National Thrift and Peaseway, these humble, boxy-looking homes left the factory floor ready-to-build. Many of these streamlined, one-level Cape Cod cottages and ranch houses were built on concrete slabs, with the longer ends facing the street. This not only made them appear larger but also increased the size of the backyard, a selling point for homeowners with children.

Under the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (popularly known as the “G.I. Bill”), veterans were offered 30-year mortgages with low interest rates and no down payments. Miller Hatchery and Farm Store offered “G.I. Homes” from the West Chicago-based Economy Portable Housing Co. The homes —“delivered and set up”— ranged in price from $900 to $2,000 (or $10,000 to $22,500 in today’s dollars). “Mr. G.I. come to Miller’s, we will have you living in your home within 30 days,” promised a May 22, 1946, advertisement in The Pantagraph.

Yet finding a home in the years immediately after the war was not always so simple. Returning veterans faced high inflation and a housing industry crippled by a shortage of building materials. Once production ramped up, though, the prefab was a cost-effective way to meet the unprecedented demand for single-family homes.

In the meantime, there were creative approaches to addressing the local housing shortage. In spring 1946, Dr. Paul G. Clark converted a 1910 Chenoa barn into two four-room apartments, both of which he let to ex-servicemen. The following spring, F.R. Hadden, a farmer east of Carlock, solved the housing and lumber shortage by building an honest-to-goodness log cabin for his tenants. The logs, cut three sides square, came from a wooded tract near Congerville. The 20 by 22 foot cabin rested on a concrete foundation and included finished interior walls of plywood panels.

State Farm Insurance Cos. even established a unit to find housing for 200 new hires. The shortage was such that State Farm made it known that their new employees would be willing to double as domestic help for local residents willing to rent out their extra rooms.

Yet despite the problems confronting the local housing market, prefabs began popping up in the Twin Cities and beyond. In December 1947, Melvin Broomhead and family moved into a “Cemesto” home in Gridley. This 24 by 28 foot pre-engineered home derived its name from its walls of cane fiber insulation sandwiched between layers of one-eighth inch asbestos cement. Squeezed into the 672-square foot home were two bedrooms, living room, dining “alcove,” kitchen, bath and utility room.

Clearly, these postage stamp prefabs were far smaller than today’s new homes. Just last week there were 175 new-construction, stand-alone homes either for sale or pending in Bloomington-Normal. The 50 homes with the lowest sale price (ranging from $151,900 to $262,900) boasted a median square footage of 2,140, a figure double that of the roomier postwar factory builts.

Back in December 1947, Don Kirby and family moved into the first Gunnison prefabricated home built in the Twin Cities. Located at 512 Manchester Road in Normal’s Walglen addition, the Kirby home was the brainchild of Foster Gunnison, whose factory in New Albany, Ind., churned out the nation’s “first commercially successful mass-produced home.”

With one helper, Kirby put up the walls of his new home in four days. The metal-framed casement windows and brass-fixtured doors came preset in the wall panels, which were then fitted together using bolts and clamps. The interior plywood panels were factory installed by way of a hot glue process. The kitchen included a 12-foot-long steel sink with a breadbox and “knife and fork” drawers.

Gunnison had plenty of competitors. Sears Roebuck and Co. in downtown Bloomington offered the ready-to-erect “Homart” cottage for $1,740 in cash. “All the ‘prefab look’ is hidden,” promised an April 1948 advertisement. “Easy-to-follow erection instructions. Shipped by freight from Cairo, Ill., factory.” In spring 1948, The Pantagraph reported that factory built homes accounted for 30 percent of all housing starts in Normal (14 of 47 homes).

There are still plenty of prefabs in and around Bloomington-Normal, some of which remain much like they were 60 years ago. Perhaps it’s time for preservationists, local government officials and neighborhood associations to take measure of the postwar era and its often neglected architecture.

Take a look
This residence, located on the 800 block of N. Fell Ave., was one of more than a dozen prefabricated homes to go up in Normal in 1948. Though it has undergone some changes (such as the newer siding), this home looks much like it did 60 years ago. (For the Pantagraph, McLean County Museum of History)
Video
Most commented stories
Browse online archives
Recent issues:
Reader comments on this story - 0 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.
Add your own comments

Please read the rules before posting comments.

You must be logged in to leave comments.
If you don't have a member ID, please register.

*Member ID:
*Password:
Remember login?
(requires cookies)
  Forgot Your Password?
 
Lee Enterprises Customer Service | 301 W. Washington St., PO Box 2907, Bloomington, IL 61701-2907 | Ph. 309-829-9000 | 800-747-7323
Copyright © 2008, Pantagraph Publishing Co. and Lee Enterprises. All rights reserved. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy