List of octagon houses

Octagon House in Watertown, Wisconsin, built 1853

David Van Gelder Octagon House in Catskill, New York, built 1860, photographed on January 13, 2008

This is a list of octagon houses. A large number of octagon houses were built in the United States before the American Civil War, and of these, at least 68 are included on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and survive to this day.

Of these, six are further designated National Historic Landmarks of the United States: Armour-Stiner House in the Hudson River valley in New York, which is perhaps the only domed octagon house in the world; The Octagon House in Washington, D.C. where President Madison lived after the White House was burnt by the British; Thomas Jefferson's retreat Poplar Forest; May's Folly in Georgia; Samuel Sloan-designed Longwood in Natchez, Mississippi, still unfinished after its construction was halted by the American Civil War; and Waverley, also in Mississippi.

Orson Squire Fowler's 1848 book The Octagon House, A Home for All and his "monumental" four-story, 60-room house built during 1848–1853, Fowler's Folly in Fishkill, New York, provided inspiration for a nationwide fad. Fifty-nine of the sixty-six pre-Civil War houses on the NRHP were built between 1849 and 1861. It is reported that the owner of the first-built of these, the Rich-Twinn Octagon House in western New York, was impressed by seeing an octagon house in the Hudson River Valley, presumably Fowler's home under construction.

At least one of the houses were used as "stations" sheltering escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad: the Octagon House in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Including post-Civil War constructed houses, there are now at least 84 octagon houses that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Octagon houses were particularly popular in New York State. There were 120 octagon houses in New York State, of which 13 are listed on the National Register and listed below.

In 1958 Carl F. Schmidt published The Octagon Fad which attempted to inventory the Fowler-inspired homes, most of which were built prior to 1915 in North America. However, only a small fraction of the total are notable and extant.

Canada

At least 20 historic octagon houses are known to exist in Canada, distributed across four eastern provinces. Extant octagon houses in Canada include the following:

• In New Brunswick
  • Pocologan
  • Sackville: Captain George Anderson House, built in 1855, is a locally designated heritage site
• In Nova Scotia
  • Tatamagouche: Fraser Octagon House, built in 1857, provincially designated heritage site
• In Ontario

Ameliasburg, Prince Edward County Bowmanville Bracebridge: Woodchester Villa, a provincially designated heritage site Brantford Burlington: The Thomas Pickett Octagonal House, built 1860, at 6103 Guelph Line, designated under the Ontario Heritage Act Calabogie: 15 Octagon Lane Clark's Corners, Oxford County Kingsville

Maple: Major MacKenzie Drive Milton Morton, northeast of Kingston, former octagon schoolhouse, also used as a residence Mount Pleasant, Brant County: 646 Mount Pleasant Road, now used as a spa Niagara Falls: Bradley Octagon House, built 1861, at 5783 Summer Street Otterville: Woodlawn Octagon House, built 1861, moved from Millvale Peel Region: 8280 Heritage Road, near Huttonville Port Hope, built 1856 Picton, Prince Edward County, built ca. 1860 Westport, on Upper Rideau Lake

• In Quebec
  • Guérin

United States

Notable octagon houses in the U.S. include the following, more than 80 in number, in date built order. The octagonal outlines of these houses may be seen in Google maps and other satellite photo services, by zooming in from satellite view above, to their locations. Specifically, almost all of the following listed ones are mapped and may be observed via satellite view in the Google external link here (click on "Map of all coordinates" to the right).

House name	Image	Date built	Location	County or equivalent	State	Description
The Octagon House	100px	1799	1799 New York Ave NW, Washington, DC	Washington	DC	President Madison lived here, signed Treaty of Ghent here. NRHP
Poplar Forest	Poplar Forest, designed by Thomas Jefferson	1806	1548 Bateman Bridge Road, Forest, VA 24551	Lynchburg	VA	Retreat for, and designed by, Thomas Jefferson, NRHP
The Glebe (Arlington, Virginia)		1815	4527 17th St., N., Arlington	Arlington	VA	NRHP
May's Folly	May's Folly, at 527 First Avenue	1829	527 1st Ave., Columbus, Georgia	Muscogee	GA	NRHP
Waverley (West Point, Mississippi)	100px	1840	West Point	Clay	MS	NRHP
T. R. R. Cobb House		1842	194 Prince Ave., Athens	Clarke	GA	NRHP
Yale-Cady Octagon House and Yale Lock Factory Site		1849	7550 N. Main St., Newport	Herkimer	NY	NRHP
Rich-Twinn Octagon House		1849	145 Main Street, Akron	Erie	NY	NRHP
Capt. Rodney J. Baxter House		1850	South and Pearl Sts., Barnstable	Barnstable	MA	Only surviving house credited by NRHP to Orson Squire Fowler. Concrete walls. Property includes an octagonal carriage house as well.
Edward A. Brackett House		1850	290 Highland Ave., Winchester	Middlesex	MA	NRHP
James Coolidge Octagon House	100px	1850	7271 Main St., Madison	Madison	NY	Rare example of cobblestone walls
Dubois-Sarles Octagon		1850	16 South St., Marlboro	Ulster	NY	Rare octagon house with sidehall interior plan (NRHP)
Octagon Cottage (Rocky Hill, Kentucky)		1850	Near Rocky Hill	Barren	KY	NRHP
Jacob Woodruff House	100px	1850	610 Liberty Street Ripon	Fond du Lac	WI	NRHP
Enoch Fuller House		1850	72 Pine St., Stoneham	Middlesex	MA	NRHP
Elias Crawford House		1851	3 Norwood St., Worcester	Worcester	MA	NRHP
William Bryant Octagon House		1851	2 Spring Street, Stoneham	Middlesex	MA	NRHP
The Octagon	100px	1852	297 East Perry Street, Tiffin	Ohio	OH	NRHP
Octagon House (Danbury, Connecticut)		1852	21 Spring Street, Danbury	Fairfield	CT	NRHP. Considered best example of style among Connecticut's remaining octagon houses.
Octagon House (Watertown, Wisconsin)		1853	919 Charles St., Watertown, Wisconsin	Jefferson	WI	NRHP
Estabrook Octagon House		1853	8 River St., Hoosick Falls	Rensselaer	NY	NRHP. One of the few remaining octagon houses built in strict compliance with Fowler's theories, other than the use of Rosendale cement.
Williams and Stancliff Octagon Houses		1853	26 and 28 Marlborough Street, Portland	Middlesex	CT	Two octagon houses, side-by-side (Northern on pictured). NRHP
Denton Octagon House		1853	760 Castle Street, Geneva	Ontario	NY	(Not NRHP)
Charles Lawton House	100px	1853	East side of the road at 416 S. Corey St. on NE corner of Corey & Washington Sts.Griggsville, IL	Griggsville	IL	Stucco over brick construction
Clarence Darrow Octagon House		1854	8405 Main Street, Kinsman	Trumbull	OH	Boyhood home of lawyer Clarence Darrow, made of chestnut logs and concrete. NRHP
Andrew Gildersleeve Octagonal Building	100px	1854	Main Rd. and Love Lane, Mattituck	Suffolk	NY	NRHP
Pressey House		1854	287 Summer St., Oakland	Kennebec	ME	NRHP
Henry H. Smith/J.H. Murphy House		1854	512 E. 6th St., Davenport	Scott	IA	NRHP
Hall-Crull Octagonal House	100px	1855	North of Rushville	Rush	IN	NRHP
Richard Barker Octagon House		1855	312 Plantation Street, Worcester	Worcester	MA	NRHP
Capt. George Scott House	100px	1855	Federal St., Wiscasset	Lincoln	ME	NRHP
Jenkins Octagon House		1855	NY 395, Duanesburg	Schenectady	NY	NRHP, designed and built by Alexander Delos "Boss" Jones
Inkwell (Lake Landing, North Carolina)		1855	E of Lake Landing on U.S. 264, Lake Landing Township, Engelhard	Hyde	NC	NRHP
Dr. Buck-Stevens House		1855	W. Main St., Brasher Falls	St. Lawrence	NY	NRHP
Shute Octagon House		1855	McGuire School Road, Duanesburg	Schenectady	NY	NRHP, designed and built by Alexander Delos "Boss" Jones
John S. Moffat House		1855	1004 3rd Street Hudson	St. Croix	WI	NRHP
Sinnett Octagon House	100px	1855	Muscatine	Muscatine	IA	NRHP
Frazier-Pressly House		1856	Abbeville County	Abbeville	SC	NRHP contributing property
Palmer-Gullickson Octagon House	100px	1856	358 Leonard St., West Salem	La Crosse	WI	NRHP
Deacon West Octagon House	On a Pewaukee morning	1856	370 High St., Pewaukee	Waukesha	WI	NRHP
Langworthy House	100px	1856	1095 W. 3rd St., Dubuque	Dubuque	IA	NRHP
Lukens Pierce House	100px	1856	NW of Ercildoun on Wilmington Rd., Ercildoun	Chester	PA	NRHP
Octagon House (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin)	100px	1856	276 Linden St., Fond du Lac	Fond du Lac	WI	Has secret passageways and was used as a safe house on the Underground Railway. NRHP
George F. Lee Octagon Houses	100px	1856	South of Nebraska City	Otoe	NE	NRHP
Wilcox Octagon House		1856	5420 W. Genesee St., Camillus	Onondaga	NY	Camillus Historical Society occupies it today. NRHP
Stephen Harnsberger House		1856	Holly Ave., Grottoes	Rockingham	VA	NRHP
Abijah Thomas House		1856	SW of Marion on VA 657, Marion	Smyth County	VA	NRHP
Hiram Smith House	100px	1856	336 Main Street or 343 Smith Street, Neenah	Winnebago	WI	NRHP
Edward Elderkin House	100px	1856	127 S. Lincoln St., Elkhorn	Walworth	WI	NRHP
James L. Lawther House	100px	1857	927 W. 3rd St., Red Wing	Goodhue	MN	NRHP
Feusier Octagon House		1857	1067 Green Street, San Francisco	San Francisco	CA	NRHP
Norrish House	100px	1858	West 2nd Street and Spring Street Hastings	Dakota County	MN	NRHP contributing property
Hiram Ramsdell House	100px	1858	High and Perham Sts., Farmington	Franklin	ME	NRHP
Capt. Josiah E. Chase Octagon House		1858	Chase Mill Road, East Limington	York	ME	NRHP
Prime-Octagon House	100px	1859	41 Prime Ave., Huntington	Suffolk	NY	NRHP
Timothy M. Younglove Octagon House		1859	8329 Pleasant Valley Road, Urbana	Steuben	NY	NRHP
Zelotes Holmes House	1986 HABS photo	1859	619 East Main Street, Laurens, South Carolina	Laurens	SC	Believed to be the first concrete house erected in South Carolina; NRHP
Armour-Stiner House	100px	1860	45 W. Clinton Ave., Irvington	Westchester	NY	Also known as the Carmer Octagon House for 20th Century owner, noted writer Carl Carmer. It may be the only domed octagon house in the world. NRHP
David Van Gelder Octagon House		1860	47 Division St., Catskill	Greene	NY	NRHP
Gen. Francis H. West House		1860	1410 17th Avenue Monroe	Green	WI	NRHP
Octagon House (Barrington, Illinois)		1860	223 W. Main St., Barrington	Cook	IL	NRHP
Octagon House (Reading, Massachusetts)		1860	97 Pleasant St., Reading	Middlesex	MA	A Carpenter Gothic house that is also octagonal. NRHP
Wallace-Jagdfeld Octagon House	100px	1860	171 Forest Ave., Fond du Lac	Fond du Lac	WI	NRHP
Newton Homestead		1860	Ridge Rd., South Otselic	Chenango	NY	NRHP
Charles Butler House (Franklin, Ohio)	100px	1860	13 E. Jackson St., Franklin	Warren	OH	NRHP
John Hosford House	100px	1860	64 Sandusky St., Monroeville	Huron	OH	NRHP
David Cummins Octagon House	100px	1860	301 Liberty Street, Conneaut	Ashtabula	OH	NRHP
Longwood (Natchez, Mississippi)	100px	1860	Natchez	Adams	MS	Antebellum mansion, interior unfinished as construction was suspended at outbreak of American Civil War. NRHP
Loren Andrus Octagon House		1860	57500 Van Dyke Street, Washington	Macomb	MI	NRHP
Octagon House (Westfield, Massachusetts)	100px	1861	28 King Street, Westfield	Hampden	MA	NRHP
Petty-Roberts-Beatty House	100px	1859–61	103 N. Midway, Clayton	Barbour	AL	NRHP. One of only two known to have been built in Alabama. The other, the Lane House, has been destroyed.
McElroy Octagon House		1861	2645 Gough Street, San Francisco	San Francisco	CA	NRHP; Structural concrete construction
Nathan B. Devereaux Octagon House	The McElroy Octagon House in Gough St. Northfield Township, Michigan	1864	66425 Eight Mile Road, Northfield Township	Washtenaw	MI	NRHP
William Waterfield House		1867	308 3rd St., S., Raymond	Black Hawk	IA	NRHP
Randall House	100px	1870	5927 Treasurer Rd., Mayville	Tuscola	MI	NRHP
Chickasaw Octagon House		1871	Court Street, Chickasaw Township	Chickasaw	IA	NRHP
Jane Ross Reeves Octagon House		1879	400 Railroad Street, Shirley	Hancock	IN	NRHP
Clapp Octagon House	100 px	1880	St. Augustine	St. Johns	FL	(not NRHP)
Ezekiel B. Zimmerman Octagon House		1883	Near Marshallville	Wayne	OH	NRHP
Dr. Nathan and Lula Cass House	100px	1885	502 N. Travis Ave., Cameron	Milam	TX	NRHP
Robert Waugh House	100px	1886	202 School St., Sparland	Marshall	IL	NRHP
Judge Henry L. Benson House	100px	1892	137 High St., Klamath Falls	Klamath	OR	NRHP
Longfellow-Hastings House	100px	1893	Heritage Square 3800 Homer St., Los Angeles	Los Angeles	CA	NRHP Located at 85 S. Allen Ave., Pasadena at time of placement on NRHP
Hattie O. and Henry Drake Octagon House		1893	605 3rd Street, SW, Huron	Beadle	SD	NRHP
William H. McCreery House	100px	1900	746 N. Washington Ave., Loveland	Larimer	CO	NRHP
Arthur W. and Chloe B. Cole House		1901	5803 Rocky Branch Rd., Houston, Missouri	Texas	MO	NRHP
George H. Gallup House	100px	1901	703 S. Chestnut Street, Jefferson, Iowa	Greene	IA	NRHP, boyhood home of George Gallup
Other C. Wamsley House		1909	200 N. 5th St., Hamilton	Ravalli	MT	NRHP
Gallaher House		1914	600 12th St., Mansfield	Douglas	WA	NRHP
Octagon House (Stamford, Connecticut)		N.A.	120 Strawberry Hill Avenue, Stamford	Fairfield	CT	NRHP
Wildfell	100px	1854	NW of Darlington on U.S. 1	Harford	MD	NRHP
Chemosphere	100px	1960	Los Angeles	Los Angeles	CA
The Octagon House		1850's	Westland	Wayne	Michigan	Now part of The Westland Historic Village Park, the central portion of the house was built in the 1850s. The two wings were added later on.
The Ocho		N.A.	21 Cascade Walk	San Francisco	CA	As briefly seen in Dirty Harry

Notable former octagon houses

House name	Image	Date built	Location	County or equivalent	State	Description
Fowler's Folly	100px	1853	Fishkill	Dutchess	NY	Octagonal home of Orson Squire Fowler, built 1848–1853, condemned as a public health hazard and dynamited in 1897.
Russell Octagon House	100px	1859	Bloomfield	Davis	IA	NRHP; removed from NRHP in 1998 due to deterioration and lack of maintenance.
John Wood Octagonal House	100px	1864	Quincy	Adams	IL	Built by the town's founder, John Wood, later the governor of Illinois, at a cost said of $200,000. Demolished in the 1950s or 1960s
Octagonal House		1875	Ames	Story	IA	Constructed in the 1870s, demolished in 1982. Namesake and original location of The Octagon Center for the Arts.

See also

• List of octagonal buildings and structures

External links

• "Inventory of Older Octagon, Hexagon, and Round Houses": directory of historic U.S. and Canadian houses with many photos, compiled by Robert Kline.
• Octagonal Houses in Canada