Sears was once one of the most prominent retailers for home goods in the country, but today it feels like a relic, with only a handful of stores still open.

Sears once had a prominent presence in Greater Cincinnati Sears, Roebuck and Co. started in Chicago in 1892 with a highly successful catalog selling just about anything possible through the mail ...

Even homes. From 1908 to 1940, customers could pick out their own ready-to-assemble home kit from a Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog and have the materials shipped directly to them, primarily by rail.