The Ellsworth Mansion on Maplecrest Avenue

The Ellsworth family established their mansion on Maplecrest Avenue in 1908 after Thomas Ellsworth purchased and expanded the residence following his success as a textile manufacturer. Three generations lived there, including Thomas, his wife Margaret, their children, and Thomas’s widowed sister who remained part of the household. The family income came from textile production, regional clothing contracts, and factory investments.

Local records describe the mansion as a carefully maintained home with active use of the library, dining rooms, and upper bedrooms during the years when Ellsworth Manufacturing remained successful.

The first warning sign appeared in 1931 when Ellsworth Manufacturing recorded delayed payments from clothing distributors and reduced factory orders. During the economic downturn, Thomas dismissed workers, closed the upper guest bedrooms, and postponed repairs to the mansard roof, porch columns, and damaged window crowns. After Thomas died in 1934, disagreements among heirs delayed decisions about the property. By 1937, unpaid business loans, inheritance costs, and property taxes forced the remaining Ellsworth family members to leave Maplecrest Avenue while legal proceedings determined ownership.

The Ellsworth Mansion was abandoned in 1938 after legal disputes, unpaid debts, and the collapse of the family textile business left the property without a stable owner. No restoration occurred, and no Ellsworth descendants returned after leaving Maplecrest Avenue. Municipal records documented failed ownership transfers and continued deterioration of the vacant residence. 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 painted masonry, limestone details, and mansard roof. The Greek Revival and Second Empire mansion remains empty on the historic suburban street, slowly deteriorating without restoration or confirmed future use.