The Harrowby House Abandoned After Printing Company Failure

The Harrowby family established Willowmere House on Franklin Street in the town of Eastvale in 1909 after Arthur Harrowby built the residence while expanding his regional printing company. Arthur, his wife Clara, their two daughters, and Arthur’s mother lived in the two-story Folk Victorian mansion. The family income came from newspaper printing, commercial advertising orders, and book production contracts.

Local records described Willowmere House as a carefully maintained family property, with preserved woodwork, active household rooms, and regular repairs before changes in the printing industry created financial difficulties.

The first warning sign appeared in 1931 when several newspaper clients reduced their orders and stopped paying outstanding accounts. By 1933, Arthur faced overdue supplier bills, reduced factory income, and growing personal debts. The family dismissed their household helper, closed the upstairs guest rooms, and delayed repairs to the slate roof, porch columns, and damaged shutters. The printing company failure of 1935 caused unpaid loans, tax arrears, and legal claims against the property. In 1936, Arthur and Clara left Willowmere House after a court-ordered sale, moving to live with their eldest daughter in another state.

Willowmere House was abandoned in 1937 after the printing company failure, legal sale, and accumulated debts ended the Harrowby family’s ownership. No restoration occurred, and no Harrowby relatives returned to reclaim the property. Later records showed several unsuccessful attempts to sell the mansion because repair expenses continued increasing. Household belongings, business papers, and personal items remained inside while weather damaged the wooden exterior, porch details, and roof. The flowering shrubs grew beyond the fence and the old clothesline remained unused. The Folk Victorian mansion stands empty on Franklin Street, deteriorating without restoration or a confirmed future owner.