A Happy Bennett Franklin Testimonial Revisited

 A long, long time ago (well, August 5, 2018), in a galaxy not so far away I posted about a Bennett Franklin model I found in Montour Falls, NY. 

A Happy Bennett Franklin: A Testimonial.

I was 99.999999999999999% it was the testimonial home of L. J. D., mentioned in a letter dated June 7, 1921. No matter how much I searched and searched, researched and reverse searched, I could not find the name belonging to the initials. But, I was very sure it was the house because the build year was right, the town is small, and the house had so many original millwork and fittings as mentioned in the catalog descriptions, I felt it was safe to authenticate it as the testimonial home. 

Lawrence J Doane's letter appeared in Catalog 21 (1922).

Well, prompted by a converstion with one of my fellow kit-house researchers on Facebook, I decided to look again. I hit paydirt with a 1930 census that I didn't find before. L. J. D. is Lawrence J. Doane who is listed in the 1930 census as living on Owego St in Montour Falls, NY. 

1930 Census for Montour Falls, Schuyler County, NY

No house number in the 1930 census, but the 1940 one puts him at 259 Owego, which is the current house number.

1940 Census for Montour Falls, Schuyler County, NY

As as a little reminder at how happy and pretty Mr Doane's Franklin is, here is a photo from the real estate listing and a catalog image from the 1920 catalog from which he probably purchased it.  259 Owego St. Montour Falls, NY.

It looks like Lawrence J Doane's house was for sale again recently.

https://www.trulia.com

A Happy Bennett Franklin: A Testimonial.

Sometimes with Bennett Better Built Homes testimonials, dumb luck is the only way you're gonna find a house. Armed with only a town name and the letter writer's initials, it's a gamble. Towns change names or are absorbed into surrounding towns, there is no match to the initials in the wild card search on Ancestry or Family Search, either in the specific town or county. I am frequently reduced to flying over the towns or more often virtually driving my Google car down streets in Google Street View. Occasionally, I'll go to Trulia or Zillow to find a likely starting point like I did with Dunkirk, NY. Once in a while, I'll find the actual house for sale. This is the happy accident that occurred when I found L. J. D.'s Franklin in Montour Falls, NY.  Montour Falls is a small village in Schuyler County NY. which while technically part of Western New York, is actually considered the Finger Lakes. It gets its name from a waterfall at the end of Main St. There are practically no Google streetviews.

The Franklin is a rather common, rather dowdy home that first appeared in Bennett Homes catalog No. 18 in 1920. The Franklin made an appearance in catalogs 21 (1922), 24 (1923), and 30 (1925). I have a catalog which may date from 1924 (no cover or date) and the Franklin is also in that one. It has the same image as the earlier catalogs.

Bennett Homes "Franklin" model as it appears in the 1920 catalog. Image courtesy of Archive.org

The Franklin as it appears in catalog No. 30 from 1925. Image courtesy Archive.org. The last time I can find the Franklin listed for sale.

L. J. D.'s letter appeared in catalog 21 from 1922. He appears to be very happy with his Franklin that he built prior to June 1921.

No matter how hard I researched, I couldn't figure out L. J. D.'s name, I STILL don't know L. J. D.'s name, but I know his house! Here is the real estate listing from Zillow.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/259-Owego-St,-Montour-Falls,-NY-14865_rb/

L. J. D. testimonial Franklin 256 Owego St, Montour Falls, NY. Image courtesy of Zillow.

You can see the brackets and the original screening, along with the stone foundation and half columns just like the catalog image along with some other details. You can't see the Mohawk front door but in other exterior shots below, you can see the triple-cut light windows that appear in the Ray H Bennett Millwork catalog.

Front porch with double windows with triple cut lights as offered in a Ray H Bennett Millwork catalog. Image courtesy Zillow.

Front porch with double windows with triple cut lights as offered in a Ray H Bennett Millwork catalog. Image courtesy  Zillow.

Bennett Bargain Book circa 1926. Window offerings. Image courtesty of Archive.org

Rear of 259 Owego St. Montour Falls, NY. Image courtesy Zillow.

Side of 259 Owego St. Montour Falls, NY. Image courtesy Zillow.

The kitchen no longer has it's built-in kitchen cupboard but here are some cabinet doors and interior door and a really cool drawing. Image courtesy Zillow.

Living room with a glimpse of the hardware on the front door. It looks like the regular style cylinder lock set that Bennett offered. Built-in bookcases are probably original, but there is no mention in the catalog description. Image courtesy Zillow.

Lock set from the Bennett Bargain Book, 1926. Image courtesy Archive.org

Shot of the dining room gives a good idea of the floor plan. Image courtesy Zillow.

Living room with stairs going up to the second floor. Stair case is the Right-hand style No. 4 with main newel post# 680. You can see the catalog photos here and here from Archive.com. Image courtesy Zillow.

Newel post at the top of the stairs. Image courtesy Zillow.

Maybe one day I will find the name attached to the initials, but in the meantime, I hope the owner loves this house.