The Whitaker Mansion Abandoned After Textile Mill Bankruptcy

The Whitaker family established Bellrose Mansion on Hawthorne Boulevard in the town of Millford in 1908 after Samuel Whitaker purchased the property while operating a successful textile mill. Samuel, his wife Margaret, their three children, and Samuel’s younger brother lived in the three-story Queen Anne residence. The family income came from textile manufacturing, factory contracts, and regional cloth production.

Local records described Bellrose Mansion as one of the finest homes in the area, with regular maintenance, active household rooms, and carefully preserved Victorian details before the textile industry decline changed the family’s fortunes.

The first warning sign appeared in 1930 when the textile mill lost several major contracts and reduced employee wages. By 1932, Samuel faced unpaid supplier bills, declining orders, and mounting business loans. The family dismissed household staff, closed the upper turret rooms, and postponed repairs to the curved porch, copper roof, and damaged balconies. The textile mill bankruptcy of 1934 caused foreclosure proceedings, unpaid property taxes, and the loss of the Whitaker family business. In 1935, Samuel and Margaret left Bellrose Mansion, moving to a smaller home with relatives after the bank seized the property.

Bellrose Mansion was abandoned in 1936 after the textile mill bankruptcy, foreclosure, and accumulated debts ended the Whitaker family’s ownership. No restoration occurred, and no Whitaker descendants returned to occupy the property. Later records documented unsuccessful auctions because restoration costs exceeded the property value. Furniture, business documents, and household objects remained inside while weather damaged the clapboard walls, porch structures, and decorative woodwork. The roses overgrew the garden fence and the porch swing remained unused for decades. The Queen Anne Victorian mansion still stands empty on Hawthorne Boulevard, deteriorating without restoration or a confirmed future owner.