On his arrival in Wilmington until his marriage, Raskob lived in a number of town houses in the central Wilmington area, including one on Adams Street which was razed during the construction of Interstate 95. Raskob began his family in a comfortable and genteel home, 2100 Bayard Ave. In the Highlands district of the city, which still stands. During these early years, Raskob relocated his mother, brother and sisters to Wilmington, and established them in nearby houses. His younger brother William Raskob went on to construct Irisbrook, the graceful mansion that now houses the offices of the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities.

A growing family and increasing wealth caused Raskob to began investigating opportunities to build an estate that befitted his new position. The Archmere property, in Claymont just north of the city, had good roads and a trolley, along with a great deal of open space running down to the Delaware River. From 1910, the family occupied the original Archmere house, and then moved to another property on the site 'Woodsedge', while Raskob built the palatial Italianate mansion that stands today.

Raskob began to acquire land in Claymont along the Delaware River in 1910, moved to the existing mansion on the estate in 1912, and constructed a grand neo-Renaissance palazzo on the site in 1916.

The mansion's most stunning feature was its interior courtyard, modeled on the Ducal Palace in Urbino, which was covered by an retractable stained-glass roof, inspired by Tiffany.

The rear of the mansion looked down to the river through lushly landscaped grounds and the natural arch in the trees which gave the estate its name.

Unfortunately, the completion of the estate coincided with new industrial and residential development in the adjoining area. Pollution from the Worth Steel plant, less than a mile away, may have affected Helena Raskob and the children. Health considerations combined with Raskob's diminishing involvement in Wilmington business matters and security concerns after a extortion attempt influenced the family's decision to move to their rural estate at Pioneer Point Farm, near Centreville, Maryland, in 1932.

Archmere's application for registration as a National Historic Place (view)

The Estate of Archmere, A Personal View, by Stephen J. Rossey (view)

Early proposal for design of Archmere (file 283) (view)

Projected construction costs (file 1468) (view)

1938 Extortion threat (file 2205) (view)

The original mansion at Archmere, demolished in 1916 to make way for the new residence. (Raskob-Green Record Book) (view)

A 1994 image of the cortile, the inner courtyard at Archmere (Hagley Pictorial Collections, Rossey Presentation) (view)

A 1939 aerial view of the Archmere estate (Dallin collection at HML) (view)

1939 aerial view showing the inner courtyard with the roof retracted (HML, Dallin) (view)

Aerial view showing Worth Steel and other industrial development (Archmere visible in lower right corner) (HML, Dallin) (view)