The Whitmore Mansion Abandoned After Automobile Factory Collapse

The Whitmore family established Rosebank House on Elmwood Avenue in the town of Fairhaven in 1907 after Charles Whitmore purchased the property while managing a regional automobile parts factory. Charles, his wife Helen, their three children, and Charles’s mother lived in the two-story mansion. The family income came from automobile manufacturing contracts, factory management, and industrial investments.

Local records described Rosebank House as a lavish neighborhood residence with maintained gardens, repaired shingles, and carefully preserved interiors before changes in automobile production weakened the family’s finances.

The first warning sign appeared in 1928 when the automobile factory lost several major contracts and reduced production. By 1930, Charles received overdue notices from suppliers and struggled with equipment payments after sales declined. The family dismissed household workers, closed the upper dormer rooms, and delayed repairs to the porches, copper roof sections, and damaged exterior woodwork. The automobile factory collapse of 1932 caused unpaid business loans, mortgage problems, and property tax arrears. In 1933, Charles and Helen left Rosebank House after foreclosure proceedings began, moving to live with relatives in another town.

Rosebank House was abandoned in 1934 after the automobile factory collapse, foreclosure, and accumulated debts ended the Whitmore family’s ownership. No restoration occurred, and no Whitmore descendants returned to occupy the mansion. Municipal records later documented failed property sales and increasing repair costs. Furniture, business records, and personal belongings remained inside while weather damaged the shingles, terraces, and wooden details. Over decades, hydrangeas and vegetation overtook the garden while the surrounding neighborhood changed. The Shingle Style Victorian mansion remains empty on Elmwood Avenue, deteriorating without restoration or a confirmed future owner.