Lustron Research Founded in 1987

Lustron Research is a website where people can connect for information, share stories, and join the Lustron Community.

Tom Fetters, author, and founder of Lustron Research, collected information on Lustron Homes starting in 1987. It all started after his daughter Jean and her best friend's history fair project on Lustron Homes. They did not find much information on Lustrons at the local library. Tom became immediately fascinated by these little tile gems around town. Tom, Jean, and his wife Gloria lived in Lombard, Illinois, which had 36 Lustron Homes. Considered the largest concentration of Lustrons in any town in the USA other than Quantico Marine Base in Virginia. Soon Tom was searching the USA for Lustrons. Curious homeowners would come outside when they saw him with his camera, but he'd ring the doorbell and introduce himself. Then he would ask to see the house's serial number, which can be located on a small steel plate in the utility room. Finding the serial number would help Tom determine when that Lustron house had been built. "When I had a list of more than 200,  I knew I was well on the way to having a book," says Fetters. The Lustron Home: The History of a Postwar Prefabricated Housing Experiment, published in 2002. We are celebrating 20 YEARS! For 35 years, as a hobby, Tom has tracked the history of these homes and the location and serial numbers.  

 A Little an about Tom. Mr. Fetters has a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Clemson University. Tom is an accomplished author who shares his research and knowledge of historical events through the written word. He has published seven books, and one is at publishers currently. He also was president of Lombard Historical Society for seven years and currently a board member and Lombard Preservation Commission member. Persevering history is very important to Tom.