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Richard Sears
Richard Sears was born in Stewartville, Minn., December 7, 1863. His parents moved to Minneapolis when he was young and he received a common school education in that city. He entered the service of the railroad and in 1886 his career path changed forever. A shipment of watches had been delivered and had gone unclaimed. Sears received permission to sell the watches and within a month had made $5,000. He decided to quit the railroad business and opened his own watch company in Minneapolis. He soon hired Alvah C. Roebuck to oversee the firm’s service department. The Sears, Roebuck Co. was not officially formed until 1893. Its branch office was located in Chicago where it had access to railroad and communication systems. The first catalog was published in 1893 and consisted of only watches. By 1897, more items were added like men’s and ladies clothing, plows, silverware, bicycles, and athletic equipment. The 500-page catalog was sent to approximately 300,000 homes. Sears catered to the rural customer because having been raised on a farm he realized what the rural customer needed. He also had experience working with the railroad and he knew how to ship merchandise to remote areas.
In 1908, Sears made another drastic move and began to sell mail order homes through his catalogs. He advertised that his home kits were selling for a minimum of $5,000 and all the supplies were included: lumber, nails, and instructions. He would ship the kit to the nearest train depot and you did the rest. You could even pick from a range of home designs and layouts. That same year, Sears retired and moved from Oak Park to Lake Bluff, IL. He died in 1914 of Bright’s disease.
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