Prefabricated housing is not a new
idea. In October of 1880, the Waterville
Mail, a Maine newspaper,
announced that it was "furnishing
frames for houses, trusses, floors,
roof...The lumber is planed, sized, cut
and marked to place, enabling any
practical workman to put it together
without difficulty."
Old shipping records in Maine show
there was an extensive trade in prefabricated
buildings throughout the 18th
and 19th centuries. Complete houses
were shipped to the American South,
Midwest, Far West, and the Caribbean
and Mediterranean regions. If you
lived back then you could buy a complete
"historic" house. But what about
now?
Even though modular and pre-cut
manufacturers don't make new houses
based on ``historic'' plans, you can
find something even better: a truly
antique