My original source has since disappeared from the internet, but I thought I remembered seeing a Lustron house that stood in the Hancock County community of Wilkinson. Some internet sleuthing and a trip down south led me to the home. Now, I think I’ve been to every Lustron house in East Central Indiana! There are twenty-three that I know of. 

After World War II ended, the United States entered a period of prosperity. Returning soldiers set their eyes on the suburbs, and the Lustron Corporation was established to meet their demand for housing. The company’s modular homes remain popular after nearly eighty years.

Lustron Corporation was part of the Chicago Vitreous Enamel Product Company. It appointed Carl Strandlund, a Swedish-born inventor, to lead the organization’s efforts to build modular homes of enameled steel in an old airplane factory. The homes were inexpensive, arrived by truck, and were erected atop a concrete slab by a local team of builders. It was not an easy job: each Lustron house used more than 3,300 individual components¹!

Lustron homes came in four colors and floor plans. Wilkinson’s appears to be a Westchester Deluxe, but it’s impossible to determine which color it came in since its steel panels have been sided over. Aside from that siding every element, inside and out, is steel!  its owners used magnets to hang paintings and cleaned house with a hose and carnauba wax. Beyond the convenience, the Westchester Deluxe featured seven closets, pocket doors, and built-in metal bookcases, china cabinets, and vanities².

Wilkinson’s Lustron house was built in 1946³. Unfortunately, Lustron Corporation didn’t last long after its house was assembled there. Despite ample funding and widespread acclaim, production fell significantly short of the company’s ambitious targets. Lustron declared bankruptcy later that year and only delivered about 2,500 homes, a scant 5% of what it promised. Remarkably, so many remain in Indiana! 

I’m infatuated by Lustron houses. Unfortunately, I think I’ve found all of them in East-Central Indiana, also known as my neck of the woods. Where might I go next? I hear there’s one somewhere in Elwood, which is technically East-Central Indiana if Tipton is. I’m not sure how I missed it! More sit in North Manchester, Wabash, and Peru. Maybe I’ll head there. Until then, you can read everything I’ve ever written about these unique homes here.

Sources Cited
1 Davis, R. (1993, March 7). Some Lustrous ‘dream homes’ remain intact. The Muncie Star. p. 3.
2 Heuchert, E. (n.d.). Lustron Homes. Minneapolis Historical [Minneapolis]. Web. Retrieved March 13, 2024. 
3 Hancock County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2025). Parcel ID: 30-04-27-302-004.000-005. Hancock County, Indiana Assessor. map, Greenfield, IN.