Sears, Roebuck and Company sold this mail-order Simplex sectional cottage, the Goldenrod model, to Mr. Lowe Steed in 1923 for $400. The quaint three-room house had no bath, plumbing, or electricity, and an outhouse could be bought separately for around $40. When the Steed family lived there in the 1930s during the Great Depression, it was heated by the kitchen stove. Sears, Roebuck and Company sold more than 100,000 mail-order homes from 1908 to 1940 in 447 styles, ranging from elaborate high-quality houses to basic models. Its three home types were Honor Built, Standard Built, and Simplex, allowing customers to choose a house to fit their lifestyle and budget. Mass production lowered manufacturing costs and reduced labor, and a Simplex home could be assembled by one carpenter from pre-cut timbers, shingles, paint, nails, and even the kitchen sink delivered to the nearest railway station. Designed for resort communities, summer homes, and industrial housing, the Goldenrod was one of the fairly rare Simplex models, and relatively few were purchased or survived because buyers generally preferred higher-quality models. In 2004, the house was moved from the Steed Farm near Clinton, Maryland, and restored and furnished to resemble its original condition.