At the start of the 20th century, America’s middle class began to flee the congestion of the city for the bucolic life of the suburbs. In a now-bygone fad, first-time homeowners were able to build the home of their dreams themselves, using the skills and resources of a kit home manufacturer. This phenomenon played out locally as North Tonawanda’s Bennett Lumber Company emerged and endured for 70 years as one of the nation’s top manufacturers of these durable, well-built homes that can still be found throughout Western New York. 

Branded as Bennett Kit Homes, customers could design their perfect home by paging through catalogs and choosing from approximately 60 different models that emulated popular architectural styles, making any changes they saw fit. The pieces—from the doors to windows, roofs and doorknobs—were made locally at the Bennett plant at 190 Oliver Street. The pieces were then packaged and distributed using North Tonawanda’s railroads, to be assembled by a contractor or the owner themselves. 

As the company put it, the advantages of these kit homes were transformative and part of a new American middle-class identity. The opening pages of a 1908 catalog made the following observation:

You are independent. You make whatever changes and improvements you desire and no one can tell you to move. You are free from rent-raising landlords-free to make your home whatever you want it to be. And the sense of security which you have when you own your home is priceless.

While they are commonly viewed as an innovation of the 20th century, the concept of kit homes goes back to the 1830s. One of the earliest records appears with a London carpenter named John H. Manning. Published in pattern books, Manning produced his interpretation of the “portable cottage.” This was a basic, wood frame dwelling that had all the elements of prefabricated architecture. These houses were built in individual components, shipped all at once and assembled on site. 

This method of construction quickly gained traction across England and other parts of Europe. It was an easy and affordable solution to a growing immigrant population in need of housing. By the late 19th century, this concept migrated to the United States. As the country expanded westward, there was a demand for a quick, affordable way to build new communities. 

In its initial form, prefabricated architecture was offered in the United States in house plan books that were published out of major cities like New York and Chicago. Books released in the 1880s, such as “Olgive’s House Plans” and “The American Cottage Builder,” showcased options designed by professional architects ranging from vacation cottages to churches and farm buildings. Depending on the building type and size, someone could spend anywhere between $500 and $3,500 for a small cottage that was built to their exact specifications in individual components.

By the turn of the century, this technique had evolved into a large-scale business. Making their own version of these pattern books, private corporations were established that controlled every step of the homebuilding process, from its design to its construction. In 1908, Sears, Roebuck & Co. in Chicago and Aladdin Homes in Michigan were operating as the big household names in kit home manufacturing. This trend would continue as several smaller companies were formed in the early decades of the 20th century prior to the Great Depression. 

Between 1908 and 1940, there are estimated to have been more than 10,000 kit homes built across the country. During a time when America’s middle class was expanding and the demand for housing was at an all-time high, a small company in Western New York emerged as a local manufacturer that contributed to this statistic.

Bennett Kit Homes can still be found in Buffalo and its suburbs. While some have been modified to appear more modern, there are many examples throughout Western New York that have retained their original design features. 

The house at 244 Potters Road in Buffalo, for example, is an exact match to the Vernon model on page 10 of the 1922 catalog. It has a barn-style gambrel roof and a side entrance that has wood detailing with a lattice design. Milton Street in Williamsville has at least five examples of Craftsman-style kit homes from the Arts and Crafts heyday, which was a highlight in the 1922 and 1923 catalogs.

The “Vernon” was a designed featured in several of Bennett’s catalogs. This sample page comes from the 1920 catalog.

An excellent example of the “Vernon” exists at 244 Potters Road in Buffalo.

Characterized by a streamlined design, these types of homes were easily adapted by companies such as Bennett because of their simple design and frequent reliance on lumber to produce its trademark decorative structural components. Another popular variation of this design, “The Sheridan,” was described as “the ideal bungalow for the city or country.” An example can be found at 59 Crosby Avenue in Kenmore.

While examples such as these are scattered throughout Western New York and in other states, the best place to find a Bennett Kit Home remains North Tonawanda. According to a 2023 historic resources survey, there are 67 identifiable Bennett Kit Homes standing in North Tonawanda. The majority of these are located in the southern part of the city, in the historic Payne Estate. Once entirely owned by one of North Tonawanda’s earliest settlers, Colonel Lewis Payne, this subdivision is bounded by Payne Avenue, Evans Street, Wheatfield Street and Niagara Parkway. Upon Payne’s death in 1898, the estate passed to his son Edward and son-in-law Lyman G. Stanley. Capitalizing on the growing real estate market, the two went into business together and developed this land into a distinct residential subdivision. After the land was cleared and fitted with the necessary infrastructure, individual parcels were formed into the distinctive grid-shaped pattern that exists today. A family looking to build a home for themselves could purchase a parcel from Payne and Stanley for anywhere between $600 and $1,000.

The building then became home to Robert H. Newell & Company, manufacturers of custom-tailored shirts whose clientele included Bob Hope, Warren G. Harding and Winston Churchill. Newell & Company remained in business for the next 86 years.

After dropping off in popularity during the Great Depression, the demand for kit homes returned in the years following World War II as part of the larger trend of residential development that took hold nationally. Similar to the events at the beginning of the 20th century, a number of contributing factors occurred that allowed Bennett and the few remaining other brands to flourish. The strength of America’s economy following the war kept prices low and allowed for middle-income families to easily afford a new home. National legislation, such as the GI Bill, also granted veterans the ability to purchase a brand-new home with zero interest. Simultaneously, independent car ownership rose to an all-time high and became standard for thousands of working-class families. This allowed developers to easily expand outward from the traditional urban core and form new suburban communities that were in high demand.

Sensing these changes, Bennett pivoted to selling homes for consumers in the modern era. Starting in the 1950s, Bennett catalogs evolved to advertise contemporary ranches and split-level houses that were a reflection of the changing tastes of the era. While earlier models prioritized symmetrical designs decorated with machine-cut detailing, the kit homes of the post-war era were simpler, streamlined designs that often offered an attached garage as its primary selling point.