Home, sweet mail order home

The Poplar Bluff Museum has tales about us, our family and our history. I want to tell you some of those tales found within the museum walls.

Before eBay and Amazon, there was the Sears and Roebucks catalog. You could order anything from it. In 1908, Sears and Roebucks issued the “Modern Homes” catalog. It offered 44 different styles of homes you could order. The house would arrive by boxcar ready to assemble. Mail order catalog home sales continued until 1940 ending with 370 styles to choose from.

In 1909, Thomas and Bertha Mathis of Poplar Bluff ordered home #118, “The Clyde.” It arrived on the Missouri Pacific Railroad and was assembled on North Main Street. In 1963, the home was sold to Tom and Betty Mickey. The Mickeys also owned a cleaners business in Poplar Bluff.

The Mathis/Mickey Mail Order Home still stands. It is located next to the Poplar Bluff Museum. It is a private residence but can be viewed from the street. Many of these homes have since been listed in the Historic Registry due to their uniqueness. The home is well worth viewing.

The story of the home is chronicled in the Peoples Room of the Poplar Bluff Museum. The original floorplan is displayed as well as a biography of the Mickey family and their cleaning business. The Museum is handicap accessible and open every Sunday free of charge from 1pm to 4 pm at 1010 Main Street, Poplar Bluff (Formerly the Old Mark Twain School). Tell them Mike sent you!

Mike Shane is a veteran, Poplar Bluff resident and board member for the Poplar Bluff Museum.