The Bennett Family Cottage Abandoned After Grocery Business Losses

The Bennett family established Ivybrook Cottage on Cedar Lane in 1908 after Thomas Bennett purchased the property while operating a local grocery store. Thomas, his wife Clara, their three children, and Thomas’s father lived together in the two-story residence. The family income came from grocery sales, delivery contracts, and supplying nearby households with food and household goods.

City directories described Ivybrook Cottage as a refined family home with maintained gardens, repaired roofing, and active household spaces before increasing competition and economic changes weakened the Bennett business.

The first warning sign appeared in 1928 when a larger supermarket opened nearby and reduced Thomas’s customer base. By 1930, several suppliers sent overdue payment notices after grocery deliveries declined. The family dismissed their delivery helper, closed the attic room to reduce heating costs, and postponed repairs to the porch spindlework, roof, and damaged windows. The economic downturn of the early 1930s caused unpaid business loans, property taxes, and supplier debts to accumulate. After the grocery store closed in 1933, the Bennett family left Ivybrook Cottage and moved into a smaller rented home outside the neighborhood.

Ivybrook Cottage was abandoned in 1934 after the collapse of the Bennett grocery business, unpaid debts, and foreclosure ended the family’s ownership. No restoration occurred, and no Bennett descendants returned to occupy the residence. Municipal records later documented unsuccessful sales attempts and growing repair costs. Furniture, business papers, and personal belongings remained inside as weather damaged the brickwork, roof, and wooden trim. Over decades, vegetation spread through the yard and cracks in the pavement. The Folk Victorian cottage mansion still stands empty on Cedar Lane, continuing to deteriorate without restoration or a confirmed future owner.