Of the hundreds of house plans offered by the William A. Radford Company of Chicago, their design number 1517 appears to have been one of their most popular – at least in the nation’s mid-section. Numerous examples of this house survive today. The design was so popular that Montgomery Ward offered an extremely similar version. Their version, called the “Farmland”, lacked the arched windows and flared roof above the eaves. Who published the plan first? The Radford design was offered in their 1909 book, “Radford’s Modern Homes”, a collection of two hundred house designs. Montgomery Ward offered their first kit homes in the same year but had offered house plans prior to that; I don’t know if their “Farmland” (or an earlier version of it) was among them. Though the exteriors were quite similar, there were subtle differences in the floor plans of the competitors. Was the house design offered by other companies? It wouldn’t surprise me.
Essentially a late example of a Queen Anne Free Classic, Radford’s number 1517 was looking a bit old-fashioned even when it was new; it was a Victorian-era design offered in an increasingly post-Victorian world. No surprise, then, that it was popular in the rural parts of the country which were slow to embrace changes in culture or fashion. Free Classics have the complex roof design and form typical of most Queen Anne houses, but do not have the fussy ‘gingerbread’ also associated with the style. Instead they have simplified ornament typical of the newly-fashionable Colonial Revival movement; classically-inspired porch columns, for example, rather than lathe-turned posts and fretwork.
Radford’s design No. 1517 as it appeared in their 1909 collection of house plans.
Although encased in vinyl siding, the distinctive look of this central Kansas house is unmistakable.
Built in reverse from the book illustration, this house retains the groups of four raked brackets above each bay window as shown on the Radford Company’s perspective drawing. Though the pediment over the steps has been lost, the porch is larger and wraps around each side of the house.
Montgomery Ward’s version of the design, marketed as the “Farmland” – an overt appeal to rural buyers.
That’s a classy house! I’ll have to keep an eye out for them.
They typically have both nice woodwork and quality hardware… classy inside as well!
Even better!
There must have been an earlier version No. 517? We have a photo of the plan and our home was built in 1906.
This is our House Plan! We haven’t been able to nail down when it was built but the closest estimates we have are 1890-1910.
It’s a nice plan! Here is a link to one which is currently on the market. It has a date stone of 1904. I’m not sure when Radford first offered this plan, but it is clear that a lot of them were built in the first decade of the twentieth century.
Here’s a link to what ours used to look like. We’re working on it!
Amazing staircase and stair hall! Your house is very similar to both the 1517 and the Farmland, but might be a knock-off by another competitor. Either that or the plan was slightly modified when built. Regardless, it’s beautiful and well worth the work you are putting into it.