Abstract:
Mail order do-it-yourself homes, purchased from Sears, Roebuck & Company and Aladdin Service, helped build the town of Roanoke Rapids in the 1900s. Trains or flatbed trucks delivered the kits, which had 30,000 or more pieces, a quarter-ton of hardware, and a very large instruction manual. To date, forty-three kit homes from Aladdin and five from Sears have been found. It is hoped that their historical appeal will draw more tourists to the area.