The Alden Estate on Rosewood Avenue

The Alden family established their estate on Rosewood Avenue in 1914 after Charles Alden purchased the property while expanding his successful regional lumber company. Three generations lived there, including Charles, his wife Margaret, their children, and Charles’s widowed brother who remained part of the household. The family income came from timber operations, building material sales, and contracts with local construction firms.

Historical records describe the estate as a carefully maintained residence with active use of the library, dining room, and upper bedrooms during the years when Alden Lumber Company remained prosperous.

The first warning sign appeared in 1931 when Alden Lumber Company recorded cancelled orders and delayed payments from construction firms. During the economic downturn, Charles reduced workers, closed several guest bedrooms, and postponed repairs to the slate roof, porch columns, and damaged wooden trim. After Charles became ill in 1934, the company struggled to recover. By 1937, unpaid business loans, property taxes, and medical expenses forced the Alden family to leave Rosewood Avenue and move to a smaller residence while creditors prepared the property for sale.

The Alden Estate was abandoned in 1938 after the decline of the lumber business, unpaid debts, and foreclosure proceedings removed the family from the property. No restoration occurred, and no Alden descendants returned after leaving Rosewood Avenue. Municipal records documented unsuccessful ownership transfers and continued deterioration of the vacant estate. The interior rooms remained closed, preserving household furnishings, business papers, and personal belongings left behind. Over the decades, moisture damage, weather exposure, and structural wear affected the sandstone walls, slate roof, porch structure, and wooden details. The Colonial Revival and Shingle-style estate remains empty on the residential street, slowly deteriorating without restoration or confirmed future use.