The ability of mail-order companies to bring stylish, well-crafted houses to the American countryside is clearly demonstrated in the Frank Lawrence House, a commodious multi-gabled Colonial Revival residence in sparsely populated southern Montgomery County, near its border with Floyd County. The house was built around 1918 using a model from a Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog. Most of its elements were shipped by railroad. The Sears catalog describes the model as a “large modern residence with a large front porch with Colonial columns.” Interior details included with it were “colonnaded openings between hall and living room; built-in bookcases with leaded glass doors in living room; china closet in dining room; and semi-open stairs.” The house, model C215, was offered from 1911 to 1917 and was priced at $1,561. The Frank Lawrence House is the only dwelling in Montgomery County positively identified as a mail-order structure.
The Frank Lawrence House was listed in the registers under the Prehistoric and Historic Resources of Montgomery County MPD.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia