Not so well in Wellsville, NY?; or, Taking the "Dutch" out of Dutch Colonial. A Bennett Montrose Story

The Bennett Better Built "Montrose" a Dutch Colonial as seen in Catalog 34, copyright 1926. 

Looking for a testimonial Bennett "Peerless" in Wellsville, NY (though I normally don't go looking for garages), I decided to troll Trulia real estate ads for possible 1920s-era Bennett homes there. Even though Zillow generally has more listing, you can literally search thousands of sold houses instead of only 500 out of thousands on Zillow.

First interesting house I see is an Aladdin Brentwood, one of the larger Aladdin "mansions". (I checked it out -- it's on our national database of Aladdin houses.) Then I saw a little house that looked like it could be an Aladdin Potomac economy bungalow. It also looked like it was on a street of possibilities. I did a little street view drive-by and saw — GASP! —  a slightly worn, rather nice, colorful house that looked like either the Bennett Elmwood or her twin, the Montrose. Pulling up in my Google car, I get out, virtually walk around with a few Bennett catalogs in hand and come to the conclusion that it is a Bennett Montrose as seen in Catalog 34 which was published in 1926. 

The Bennett Montrose was first offered in the 1925 catalog (No. 30) along with its sister model, the Elmwood. The Elmwood was a 6-room Dutch Colonial with a fireplace and the Montrose was an 8-room Dutch Colonial without a fireplace but with an extra breakfast nook off the kitchen. Both models had enclosed porches (referred to in the catalogs as a "sunroom". Both had 4 windows. The next year, while the smaller Elmwood retained four windows, the larger Montrose gained a fifth. 

The Montrose (left) and the Elmwood (right) as they appear in the 1925 catalog

The house I saw is at 82 O'Connor St, a not densely populated street very close to the train tracks. In fact it Railroad St and the train station are only a scant few miles away. 

Though some of the windows were enlarged on the sides, such as the window on the staircase and the first floor window on the catalog side, it matches the catalog photo nicely. Look at the beautiful five windows. 

82 O'Connor St Wellsville. Google Streetview capture 2015

82 O'Connor St Wellsville. Google Streetview capture 2015

82 O'Connor St Wellsville. Google Streetview capture 2015

82 O'Connor St Wellsville. Google Streetview capture 2015

82 O'Connor St Wellsville. Google Streetview capture 2015

1926 catalog image courtesy Archive.org

While researching the address to see what I can find, I discovered the house sold back in September 2020. Ooh! Real Estate photos of the interior! So off I go to Realtor.com. First thing I see is that the house has been encased in vinyl 😢. Then I realized that all that made the house a Dutch Colonial has been removed and smoothed over 😢😢.  I know there are many reasons to do something like this: underlying rot, leaking, trim falling off, aethetics, expense . . . This job was actually well done. The roof lines are there making me believe that the Montrose (and Elmwood) is NOT a true Dutch Colonial in that it doesn't have a true gambrel roof.  

82 O'Connor St Wellsville, NY courtesy the Realtor.com listing. (Why oh WHY?!)

But once I got past the initial photo, I was a happy camper. All of the original details as indicated in the catalog are still there!

Living room facing the sunroom and vestibule and side window (enlarged from the catalog plans) Photo courtesty Realtor.com

Living room, vestibule, and sun room of the Montrose from the 1926 Bennett catalog.

As you can see from the layout, the vestibule is separated from the living room with a single French door, and the sun rooms is separated from the living room by a set of double French doors just like this house. The newel post also matches that which was offered in the Montrose. Dig those five windows. 

View of stair case courtesy Realtor.com    

Bennett stairway and newell post as offered in 1926's Bennett Bargain Book.

They even include a close up of the newel post in the listing!

Photo courtesy of the Realtor.com listing.

It is newel design number 680. 

Here is a nice view of the two sets of French doors. You can see the double side window in the sun room. The hardware isn't very distinguished and rather common, unlike Sears which had some fabulous, unique-to-them hardware.

Photo courtesy of the Realtor.com listing.

The dining room is separated from the living room by a plastered arch whereas the catalog calls out a cased opening. Plastered arches are a very common offering in Bennett designs and this might have been a less expensive option.  You can see the two separate living room windows.

Photo courtesy of the Realtor.com listing.

Catalog 34, 1926. Courtesy of Archive.org

Millwork like inside doors and window sashes are typical Bennett. Upstairs hallway and room configuration match the catalog layout. 

The catalog says that the Montrose comes with a "Mohawk" front door, but the front door isn't shown in the real estate photos.

Catalog 34, 1926. Courtesy of Archive.org

Here are close-ups of the floor plans. 

Catalog 34, 1926. Courtesy of Archive.org

Catalog 34, 1926. Courtesy of Archive.org

I have found a few very nice Montrose houses, even a Montrose on Montrose Avenue in Buffalo! It is one of the many Dutch Colonial houses that Bennett Better-Built Homes offered and one of my favorites. 

If you want to drive around and see the house as it appeared in 2015, click HERE