Aladdin Block 1

One of the earliest catalogs published by the Aladdin Company, 1908. Courtesy of Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University,

In 1906, brothers William and Otto Sovereign founded the North American Construction Company in Bay City, Michigan. Inspired by a pattern-built, mail-order boat company in the Bay City area, the brothers applied the concept to houses, the first company to do so. The company’s location in the heart of a booming regional lumber industry, with ready access to railroad transportation, positioned it for success.