Stapf Affection: Early Sears in Dunkirk, NY (Dunkirk, part 2)

John A. Stapf, jeweler and real estate guru of Dunkirk, NY, is a new favorite of mine. Born in Pittsburgh, he moved to Dunkirk circa 1878 where he switched from the manufacture of jewelry to the retail jewelry business. He was also into real estate and was crucial to the development of Dunkirk, NY. He became the president of the Dunkirk, NY Real Estate Board in 1893 and according to an article in the July 19, 1920 issue of the Dunkirk Evening Observer, by the year 1920 he had built 54 houses. Some of those 54 houses were built in the Brooks Park subdivision he started developing in 1910. All of the houses below can be dated to 1913 or before. 

Advertisement in the September 6, 1910 issue of the Dunkirk Evening Observer. Thank You to Judith Chabot at Sears House Seeker for finding the name of the sub-division and providing the ad. 

Ad for Brooks Park with prices per lot and map of the Sub-division. James Ave (named after Harry James, Dunkirk mayor from 1910 to 1911) was later renamed Roosevelt Ave. It remains as such to this day. Thank you again to Judith for this ad.

Google screen shot of the short length of Taft Place, Dunkirk, NY as it looks in recent years. I mapped out the addresses and models of the models that are mentioned in Houses By Mail as being located in Dunkirk. 

I discovered that the locations listed came directly from the catalog copy. So Judith over at Sears House Seeker sent me the Dunkirk pages from the 1914 catalog. So, without further ado, here are the Sears houses of Brooks Park. (All catalog pages reproduced here are courtesy of Judith Chabot)

Sanborn Map, 1919 showing Taft Place and Woodrow Avenue. House nos. 1 and 2.

Sanborn Map. 1919 showing the other end of Taft Place at McKinley Ave. House Nos. 17, 19, 20, 22, and 24.  

Cover of the 1914 Sears, Roebuck Modern Homes catalog courtesy Judith Chabot, Sears House Seeker

Catalog page for the #225 with floor plan. 

Detail of the 225

Built at Dunkirk, NY

#225 at 1 Taft Place and Woodrow Ave. Image courtesy of Google Streetview. 

#225 at 1 Taft Place — side view from Woodrow Ave. Image courtesy of Google Streetview. 

#225 at 24 Taft Place and McKinley Ave. Image courtesy of Google Streetview. 

Rear/side view of the #225 at 24 Taft Place and McKinley Ave. Image courtesy of Google Streetview.

Catalog page for the #164 with floor plan.

Detail of the 164.

Built at Dunkirk, NY.

#164 at 2 Taft Place and Woodrow Ave. Image courtesy of Google Streetview. 

Catalog page for the #124 with floor plan.

Detail of the 124.

Built at Dunkirk, NY.

#124 at 22 Taft Place near McKinley Ave. Image courtesy Google Streetview.

#124 at 20 Taft Place near McKinley Ave. Image courtesy Google Streetview.

#124 at 20 Taft Place near McKinley Ave. Image courtesy Google Streetview.

Catalog page for the #264 / Sherburne with floor plan.

Built at Dunkirk, NY/

Detail of the 264 / Sherburne.

Detail of the 264 / Sherburne in color.

#264 / Sherburne at 22 Taft Pl next door to the 124 and 225 near McKinley. 

Blurb for the 264 / Sherburne at 22 Taft Place in the Dunkirk Evening Observer.

Not mentioned in either the 1914 Sears catalog nor House By Mail, we have another Sears house built by John A. Stapf as part of his Brooks Park sub-division. It is an Avondale with an enclosed porch located at 17 Taft Pl, two doors from McKinley.

Avondale at 17 Taft Place near McKinley.

Reminder shot of the screen grab of Taft Place from Google maps. 

This lovely Avondale was bought by William F Bechtold for his bride in 1913. The following snippets are from the Dunkirk Evening Observer.

And here is a notice in the papers of the real estate transaction between William Bechtold and John A Stapf.

According to the 1920 Census, the Bechtolds were no longer living on Taft Place, but here are snippets of two pages from the census showing us who occupied the houses.

Last but not least on Taft Place, there is #19 on the corner of Taft and McKinley next to the Avondale. Acute observers have noticed that the house closely resembles the Sears 113.

#113 from the 1914 Sears catalog. 

#19 Taft Place. Courtesy Google Streetview.

#19 Taft Place. Courtesy Google Streetview.

#19 Taft Pl. View from McKinley. Courtey Google Streetview.

#19 Taft Pl. View from McKinley. Courtey Google Streetview.

To close the chapter on Mr. John A Stapf, an article appeared in the July 19, 1920 issue of the Dunkirk Evening Observer announcing an additional 25 houses to be built. In an accompanying photo, they show his 54th house built on McKinley Ave. The house, on the extreme left, is not a Sears house, but if you look very carefully at the blur at the extreme right of the photo, tilt your head sideways and squint, you can make out the rear of the #225 at 24 Taft Pl at the corner of McKinley.

July 19, 1920 Dunkirk Evening Observer.

#225 at 24 Taft Pl at the extreme right, rear view. 

This might be the end of John A Stapf, but not Dunkirk, NY.