MASSACHUSETTS

Barnstable County.

• Centerville. Bowen round house. Built around 1930. Located between 943 and 977 West Main Street - there is no number on the house.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  The photo above dates from the 1980s.
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer. Centerville Historical Museum, Centerville, MA.
  Entered: October, 2009.
• Falmouth. Octagon house. Built in 1850. Located at 44 Thomas Lane.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: May, 2009.
• Falmouth. Octagon house. Located on the same site as the house above. Apparently the house was either built on the site of an earlier one story octagon house, or is a significantly altered version of that house. The photo was taken in 1990.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  
  Source: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: May, 2009.
• Hyannis. The Captain Rodney J. Baxter octagon house. Builit in 1850. Has matching octagon barn. Wood construction. Two story. Octagon chimney. Walls 18 inches thick. Located at South and Pearl Streets, near the Barnstable Town Hall, in downtown Hyannis. A concrete octagonal carriage house stands to the southeast of the house.
  
  The satellite images below show the context of the house:
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Above left, the house and barn. Center, the house. Right, the barn.
  
  The following photographs, from the late 1970s, show the house when it had experienced less neglect.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: R. Kline, Chuck Smiler, owner of one of the octagon houses in New Bedford, MA. The ELPuerzer Archive provided the photographs from around 1978.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: February, 2003.
  Updated: April, 2007.
  Updated: June, 2009.
• Provincetown (Cape Cod). Octagon house. The Robert Soper House, built 1834. Located on the west end, on the corner of Commercial and Soper Streets. Soper was a "whaling master," and made a fortune. He was founding trustee of the Centennial Methodist Church, and a founding incorporator of Seamen's Savings Bank. When all of the whales were wiped out Soper sold everything and moved to the Boston suburb of Melrose. The house has been a restaurant, and a senior home. It is now a guest house.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: September, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2009.

Berkshire County.

• Pittsfield. Octagon house. The Wooliston-Wall house. Built in 1860. Located at 58 Union Street, near the intersection with North.
  
  1899 map of Pittsfield. The house is in the upper right hand corner.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The top row of photographs, above, show the house being renovated, in about 2007, and the result, complete with period colors. Bottom row, left, is a photograph perhaps taken in the 1950s. Bottom row, middle, shows the context of the house.
  
  Sources: Lynn Harford. "More About Octagons," Carl F. Schmidt. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: May, 2002.
  Updated: February, 2007.
  Updated October, 2009

Bristol County.

• Mansfield. hexagon house. Built in about 1863 by the brothers Orange and George Stearns. located at 82 Stearns Avenue. Two story. Stucco exterior. The current owner relates the following about the house:
  

  "It was built by two brothers, Orange and George Stearns around the time of the civil war. It is made with poured concrete. The walls are well over a foot thick. I do not know if there is any reinforcement, probably not. At the time it was built, the people in the town called it the mud house, because they did not know about cement and thought it would fall down in the first rain storm. At one point in time it had a railing around the roof and the owners kept bees.

  It has a triangular chimney which also serves as a structural support in the center of the house. I tried to draw a floor plan, but it was not accurate, so I did not include it. It actually has some closet space, which is unusual for houses of that time period, although its possible that they were added at some time after initial construction. There are no square angles in the house making the floor plan hard to draw from memory. At one point in time it was divided into a 2 family but it has since been converted back to a single family house. It had significant renovation in the 80s with new wiring, plumbing, bathrooms and kitchen and removal of the asbestos shingles. The exterior was then finished with stucco."

  Old hexagon houses are quite rare. Only a half dozen are known here. The appeal and promotion of octagon houses did not seem to extend to hexagon houses.

  The current owner supplies the following photographs. As can be seen in the 1978 photo, the stucco is actually white, although it appears pink in many of the photographs.

  
  Front side view.
  
  Front view.
  
  Side view.
  
  The house in about 1945.
  
  The house in 1978.
  
  Orange Scott Sterns in about 1861.
  
  George Fredric Sterns - date unknown.
  
  Source: Doug Shepard, the current owner, supplied all of the information and photos.
  Entered: December, 2005
  Updated: March, 2008
• New Bedford. Octagon house. The Harriet B Beard House. Built 1866. On 172 Arnold Street. The house is now seven sided. Squared off at the back left, from the front entrance, for now it is not known just when this occurred, or even whether it was built this way.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission. Brief article, photo..
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: April, 2009.
• New Bedford. Octagon house. Built in 1848 by the designer, John Vinal. Later sold to Captain Fordyce Dennis Haskell, of the whaling ship Mercury. ( There is uncertainty about whether Haskell had the house built or whether it was built on speculation. ) Two story, cupola. Located at 347 Union Street. Four of eight sides have gables. See also a house in Somerville, NJ, for another example of this kind of roof.
  
  Photograph.
  
  The current owner relates the following information:

  "There are only two octagon houses in New Bedford, ours and the one on Arnold Street. There are three listings in the directory which appear to refer to our house, perhaps based on historical references pertaining to different owners. The house was built in the winter of 1847 by housewright John Vinal and completed in 1848 when it was sold to Haskell. A direct lineal descendant of Haskell, Mrs. Margaret Green, believes the house was built to Haskell's order not on spec, but there is some disagreement on the matter. The house was apparently made more elaborate in the late 1860's by the next owner, John Hastings, a whale oil merchant and candle manufacturer. The bay windows on the first and second floors and the conservatory were likely added at that time and the front entrance portico and other "projections" were added at that time. The house had been sided in aluminum and much of the architectural detail removed when it was purchased in 1984 and greatly restored in the late 1980's by Raymond LaGue, III, who sold the house to us. We are continuing with restoration and redecoration fitting to the period(s) of the house."

  Now a bed and breakfast.

  CAPTAIN HASKELL'S OCTAGON HOUSE - Guests and their pets welcome.
  phone: (508) 999-3933
  web:www.theOctagonHouse.com
  email:stay@theOctagonHouse.com
  
  History, photographs, and other details..
  
  Source: R. Kline, and Chuck Smiler, the current owner.
  Entered: February, 2002.
  Updated: February, 2003.
• North Attleboro. a.k.a. North Attleborough. Built in 1878 or before. a.k.a. the Tifft property on Washington St. St Mary’s rectory. It was owned by (built for?) a member of the Richards Family and at one time was occupied by Horace Tifft, who was a clock manufacturer. The property was acquired by the Catholic Church who tore down the octagonal barn, but kept the house and used it as their rectory. The rectory was torn down in the 1950s and replaced with a modern brick building. Seen on 1878 map at left. Notice the Octagon Barn behind house.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The photograph on the right says St. Mary's parsonae, and is dated October 23, 1899.
  
  Sources: Ellen Puerzer. Bob Lanpher, trustee, North Attleborough Historical Socieity.
  Entered: January, 2010
• Seekonk . Hexagon house. Perhaps from the US Civil War era. Nothing else known.
  
  Source: Doug Shepard.
  Entered: December, 2005
• Somerset . Octagon house. The Tripp-Mello house. Built ca. 1860. Located at 1457 Country Street. Two story. The house once had a cupola. The photograph below, taken in or before May, 1984, shows the house to be in poor condition. Razed in 1997.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The middle and left images, above, are postcard images, and are undated. One can see that the house did once have a cupola. The right hand image, above, is from 1979, and shows the house was not being well cared for by then already.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The items below show the demise of the house. Even with NRHP assist, it had apparently deteriorated beyond the point where it could be reasonably restored.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  
  
  Sources: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt. Ellen Puerzer.Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission. Mary Pelletier, Reference Librarian, Somerset Public Library. Diane Goodwin, President and Assistant Curator, Somerset Historical Society, supplied the postcard images.
  Entered: October, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2009.
  Updated: June, 2009.
• Taunton . Octagon house. Built in 1851. Located at 15 Monroe Street.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2009.
  Updated February, 2010
• Taunton . Octagon house. Built ca. 1855. Located at 206 South Walker Street. Unusual, but not unique, structrue through the center of the house, destroying the true octagon symmetry.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2009.

Dukes County.

• Oak Bluffs. Formerly Cottage City. Octagon cottage. Located at 10 Dorothy West Avenue. The Town of Oak Bluffs is a resort town on the northeast shore of the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Originally incorporated in 1880 as Cottage City, in 1907 the town's name was change
  
  Built in the Highlands section of East Chop 130 years ago, around the time that the United States was celebrating its first century, the whimsical cottage is painted green and embellished with Victorian architectural details such as corbels, St. Andrew's crosses and a three-story tower. An octagonal cottage sits out back. (Pic Im sending is of the cottage.)
  
  Time, however, has not been kind to the Bird's Nest. Maintenance has been neglected. The roof leaks. Rot has set in.
  
  Talk of restoration of cottage and octagonal guest house in 2006.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: October, 2009.

Essex County.

• Conomo Point. Octagon house. Probably built in 1896 or 1897 by a man named Burham. The Rowe family might be the 3rd or 4th owners. Previous owners were named Cass and Knowlton, but it's not known whether there were othes. Double front doors have etched glass windows which each say "Octagon." The structure is built on pilings, and heated only by a propane radiator/heater, since it is a summer cottage. Original windows, with eyebrows, were rotted, and removed. The windows were enlarged, but the eyebrows were not replaced, changing the look of the house. Known on nautical charts as "The Tower," and was a navigation landmark for ships going up the Essex River. Owned by the Rowe family in 2010.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The photograph above, left, was taken in 2008.
  
  Sources: Ellen Puerzer. Heidi Rowe. Carol Rowe.
  Entered: February, 2010.
• Danvers. Octagon house. The Nurse-O'Neil house. Built 1857. Located at 148 Locust Street. Two story. Cupola removed in the late 1800s. Concrete walls. Stone in cement foundation.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  Hitorical information.	Hitorical information.

  
  
  Sources: Danvers Preservation Commission. Ellen Puerzer. Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: April, 2009.
• Manchester. Octagon house. Beech St.
  
  

  

  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: June, 2009.
• Marblehead. Octagon house. Construction date unknown. Three story. Cupola. Mansard roof. Located at 6 Mount Verson Street.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  Group of photographs
  
  Sources: Suzanne Wray. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: February, 2009.
  Updated February, 2010
• Peabody. Octagon house. Built in 1870. Located at 58 Franklin Street. Two story. A cupola is shown in an 1877 Panorama map, but is gone today. A new foundation was installed in 1931.
  
  Shown at the center of a segment of an 1877 map of Peabody.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  History.

  
  
  The photograph at the right was taken in 1977 or before.
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer. Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: July, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2009.
• Salem. Octagon house. A summer house, located at the Pickering-Dodge house.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: September, 2001.

Franklin County.

• Ashfield. Octagon house. Unusual roof, which appears to be part of a third story.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  Source: R. Kline.
  Entered: November, 2002.
• Colrain. Octagon house. Built in 1850. Shown in an 1871 Beers Atlas to belong to A.S.Jones. Located on Griswold Street, near where it becomes Church Street.
  
  

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  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer. Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated February, 2010
• East Northfield. Octagon house. In the vicinity of Wannamaker Pond. A widow's walk instead of a cupola. No porch, but indications there might have been one. The house was primarily a summer residence, later updated for year around living. Located on Route 10 ( the highway to Keene, NH ). Set back in the woods, with hills on three sides.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  The photograph above is from 1946. The house is now gone.
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated February, 2010
• Greenfield. Queen Anne style octagon house. Located at 56 Pleasant Street. Said to be highly modified. Nothing else known. Needs confirmation.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  Source: John Leeke and John R. Fontaine. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated October, 2009
• Greenfield. Octagon house. Built about 1858 Located at 117 Conway Street. Two story, cupola, unfinished basement. Currently split into 2 one bedroom apartments downstairs, and a two bedroom apartment upstairs. The conversion has been in place for decades.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Shown at the center of a segment of an 1877 map of Greenfield.
  
  Another contemporary image of the house.
  
  Sources: Phil Simon, owner. Photographs provided by Jenifer Simon and Dale Travis.
  Entered: December, 2001.
  Updated: August, 2003.
  Updated February, 2010
• Shelburne. Octagon house. Construction date unknown. Located at 14 Main St. Built by a dentist named Marse. Two story. Porch around maybe four sides. The house has been rather significantly modified recently. It seems unlikely that the modifications are historically accurate.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer. Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: April, 2009.
  Updated February, 2010

Hampden County.

• Holyoke. Octagon house. Built in 1870. Burned on February 9, 2010. Located at 1144 Hampden Street. A very well maintained house, it now appears to be a total loss. An especially big loss because the house was in such good condition.
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The photograph in the bottom row, right, is dated 1889.
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission. Fire damage photos by Lenny Los. Peter Rambling VanDog provides the flickr page. Penni Martorell - Public Library History Room & Archive.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2009.
  Updated February, 2010
  Updated: March, 2010
• Westfield. Octagon house. Watson-Steiger-Loomis. Apparently a commercial property, at 28 King Street. Listed in National Historic Register. Shown at the center of a segment of an 1875 map of Westfield.
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: Westfield Historical Commission. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: April, 2009.
• Westfield. Octagon house. Built in or before 1875, by John Reed. Cupola. Two story. Located at the intersection of Mill and Court Streets.
  Shown at the center of a segment of an 1875 map of Westfield.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: July, 2002.

Hampshire County.

• Amherst. Octagon house. Pre 1900. Located on North Prospect Street. Built by architect William Shove Howland. Later build an octagonal addition for use as a study. Two daughters later ran a private school from the house. Deomolished in 1947 by St. Bridget's Catholic Church.
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated February, 2010
• Northampton. Round house. The Strong-Conz house. Located at 32 Conz Street.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The photograph at the left, above, was perhaps taken in the 1950s.
  
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: October, 2002.
  Updated October, 2009

Middlesex County.

• Lowell. Round house. The Jonathan Bowers house. Built in 1872, at a clost of $30,000. Three stories. Cupola. First two stories are made of granite stone, quarried at Bowers' own Tyngsboro quarry, and the third floor is mansard style, and made of slate. Located at 58 Wannalancit Street.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  Source: Bob Roach, the current owner.
  Entered: February, 2009.
• Marlborough. Octagon house. The Andrews-Boggs house. Construction date unknown. Located at 43-45 Mt. Pleasant street. Two stories.
  
  

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  Source: Ellen Puerzer. Lee Wright, The Marlborough Historical Society Board of Trustees.
  Entered: April, 2009.
  Updated: May, 2009.
• Marlborough. Octagon house. The Manning-Lane house. Built in 1855. Second house ocated on Mt. Pleasant street.
  Source: R. Kline, and "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: September, 2002.
• Medford. Octagon house. Built in 1855. An octagon house only in a subjective sense. If the octagon tower was any smaller it would simply be a rectangular house with an octagonal tower, a feature fairly common in older houses. In fact, it's not know how the house was constructed. Many houses have origianal rectangular features. Sometimes they were added later. It appears that the octagon feature of this house is simply an exaggerated entrance, and that it was never intended to be a true octagon house.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: June, 2009
• Natick. Octagon house.
  Source: Erika Perone.
  Entered: March, 2002.
• Newton. Octagon house. Built in 1853. Located at930 Watertown St Harriet Willard House. Middlesex cnty. The house at 930 Watertown Street in Newton is a ten-sided building and there is also a small ten-sided barn behind it. The house was built between 1852 and 1855 by Seth Davis for his granddaughter, Harriet Willard, a school teacher. The house was originally detailed with Greek Revival motifs, including eaves entablature and paneled pilaster at each rib of the decagon. Greek Revival detailing remains in the building's projecting vestibule, but other details have been covered with aluminum siding. The attached photographs were taken before the siding was put on, probably in the late 1950s or early 60s.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  Sources: Erika Perone. Ellen Puerzer. Newton History Museum at The Jackson Homestead, Newton, MA .
  Entered: March, 2002.
  Updated: May, 2009.
• Reading. Octagon house. The Horace P. Wakefield House, 1860. Wakefield was a reading teacher, practiced medicine, and was town clerk for two years. Located at 97 Pleasant Street.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: James A. Newton, "Crows' Nests or Eagles' Aeries? The Octagon Houses of E.A.Brackett and H.P.Wakefield." Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: March, 2010
• Somerville. Round house. The Enoch Robinson House. Built in 1854 or 1856. Located at 36 Atherton Street. Three stories, with the top story smaller than the other two. The house has been in a state of renovation for a number of years, but nothing much seems to happen.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  

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  The postcard shown above, bottom, right, is dated 1908, and the cupola is already gone. So the photograph on the left, bottom row, is pre-1908, but it's not known by how much. It was clearly a very elegant house and neighborhood at the time the photograph was taken.
  
  The images above were probably taken in 2009. They appear to show that little, if any, progress is being made in the restoration of the house.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Satellite image, showing the context of the house.
  
  Historical photograph. When it was taken is not known. The power and phone lines probably only show it was some time after 1900, but the shorts the women are wearing suggests some time later than that. The house appears to be in pretty bad shape already, suggesting a long period of deterioration.
  
  Drawing. Seemingly a drawing of the house. If so, the cupola is not shown, and the outside boards are vertical rather than horizontal.
  
  Photograph - interior details.
  
  Sources: James A. Newton, "Crows' Nests or Eagles' Aeries? The Octagon Houses of E.A.Brackett and H.P.Wakefield," Kevin Berner, and Martha Irwin. Ellen Puerzer. Karen Marlene Larsen supplied photographs of detailed aspects of the house.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: June, 2002.
  Updated: February, 2007.
  Updated: March, 2010
• Stoneham. Octagon house. The William Bryant house. Built in 1850. 2 Spring Street. Two stories, with cupola (a.k.a. "widows walk") Listed on the National Historic Register.
  
  Left side view
  
  Front view .
  
  Right front view .
  
  Front view - new paint scheme .
  
  Right front view - new paint scheme .
  
  Left side of the house.
  
  Back stairs .
  
  Cellar carriage door. .
  
  Second set of stairs leading up to the front porch or down to the yard. Located next to the cellar carriage door.
  
  A contemporary drawing of the house. . By a previous owner.
  
  Sources: Gary and Jaime Mullane, current owners, who also provided photos. Bill Sweeney provided a photo.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: March, 2004.
  Updated: May, 2004.
  Updated: June, 2004.
• Stoneham. Octagon house. Built in 1848. Two story. Large cupola. Porch on three sides. Wood exterior. Located at the intersection of Raymond Road and Pine Street.
  
  Front view .
  
  Sources: Gary and Jaime Mullane. Bill Sweeney, who provided the photograph.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: March, 2004.
• Stoneham. Octagon house. Built ca. 1848-1850. Exterior wall is clapboard construction. Located at 118 Summer Street, near the intersection of June Road. Two story. Two story porch on one side.
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  The photograph at the right was taken in 1979 or before.
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer. Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: April, 2009.
• Townsend. Octagon house. Located on Route 119.
  
  Sources: Andrew Rasanen, Jennifer Simon,
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: August, 2003.
• Townsend. Hexadecagon house. The Marshall-Churchville house. Built in 1850. Two story. Brick construction.
  
  Photograph, perhaps taken in the 1950s.
  
  Sources: R. Kline; "More About Octagons," Carl F. Schmidt.
  Entered: September, 2002.
• Wakefield. Octagon house. Built in 1914. Nothing else known.
  Source: R. Kline.
  Entered: September, 2002.
• West Townsend. Hexadecagon house. The Lowe house. Built in 1860s.
  
  Photograph, perhaps taken in the 1950s.
  
  Sources: R. Kline; "More About Octagons," Carl F. Schmidt.
  Entered: September, 2002.
• Winchester. Octagon house. The Edward Augustus Brackett House, 1852. Located on Summit Avenue. Shown at the center of a segment of an 1898 map of Winchester.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Photograph of Edward A. Brackett.
  
  Source: James A. Newton, "Crows' Nests or Eagles' Aeries? The Octagon Houses
  of E.A.Brackett and H.P.Wakefield."
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: July, 2007.
• Woburn. Octagon house. Construction date unknown, but before about 1950. Two story. No cupola. Wood exterior.
  
  Photograph,
  
  Sources: Bill Sweeney.
  Entered: March, 2004.

Norfolk County.

• Foxboro. Octagon house. Built in 1855 for the original owner, Miss Abbie Dean. Located at 22 Market Street, near the intersection with Rockhill Street. A segment of an 1879 panoramic map shows the buildings at the center of the image. Two story. Clapboard exterior. There was once a porch around the entire house. There were once four exterior doors. Today there are two. The house originally had four rooms on the first floor, and five rooms on the second floor.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: Evan Lattimore. Richard Bancroft, the current owner. Ellen Puerzer. Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: May, 2002.
  Updated: October, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2009.
  Updated: May, 2009.
• Highlandville. Octagon house. Built in or before 1887. Cupola. Located on Hunnewell Street. Shown at the center of a segment of an 1887 map of Highlandville.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: July, 2002.
• Randolph. Octagon house. Located on Main Street.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: September, 2002.
• Sharon. Octagon house. Nothing else known.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: September, 2002.
• Stoughton. Octagon house. Built in 1852.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2009.

Plymouth County.

• Abington. Octagon house. Located at 35 Brighton Street. Built in 1853. Two story. No cupola. Very good condition.
  
  Photograph and location
  
  

  Left click on some of the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Source: Steve Nicoletta. Dale Travis provides detailed location information. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2007.
  Updated: May, 2009.
• Abington. Octagon house. Located between Abington and Whitman.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: September, 2002.
• Abington. Octagon house. Built in 1869. Located at 195 Centre Avenue. Two story. Large cupola. Additions were made after 1911. Demolished in 1997 to make room for an apartment building.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The left hand photograph above was taken in 1981 or before. The right hand photograph was taken before 1911.
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2009.
• Brockton. Octagon house. Located on Brunswick Street.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: September, 2002.
• Brockton. Octagon house. Located on North Pearl Street.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: September, 2002.
• Hanover. Octagon house. Located on the road from Hanover to Norwell.
  Source: R. Kline, and "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: September, 2002.
• Kingston. Octagon house. Built in 1854. Located at 111 South Street. Two story. Porch on five sides. Mostly wood construction, and more or less balloon framed, with wood clapboards and slate roof on the octagon, and asphalt on the extension. Apparently the octagon chimney, containing four fireplaces, is a primary support member for the house. Roof beams tie to the chimney using a 1" thick iron or steel band. There is a 55 gallon cistern in the attic, but it is no longer hooked up to the plumbing.
  
  The house was part of a working farm, and the house had been in the same family since it was built.
  
  Photographs showing a front view. and a side view.
  
  Following are some interior photographs. The house is in the process of some renovation now, following the effects of some brief rental activity on the part of the original family owners.
  Kitchen area.
  ?
  Detail of full height windows, and wood floor. The windows act as doors in the summer for access to the porch.
  ?
  Winding staircase.
  Living areas, and a fireplace.
  
  Here is a floor plan.
  Notice the root cellar below the kitchen area. It is about 15 to 20 feet deep, concrete, and topped with granite and brick.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  The photograph above was taken in September, 2009.
  
  Sources: Nat Novak. Donna Justen.
  Entered: May, 2002.
  Updated September, 2009
• North of Pembroke. Hexagon house. Built in 1853, by William Young. Located on 206 Washington Street. Two story. No cupola. Excellent condition.
  
  Photograph
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt. Steve Nicoletta supplies the photograph. Dale Travis provides detailed location information. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: September, 2007.
  Updated: April, 2008.
• Plymouth. Octagon house. Perhaps in the "monument area." Now apparently gone.
  Sources: Philip L. Goduti.
  Entered: June, 2009.
• Plympton. Round house. The Washburn-Fills house. Built 1857-1859 by Isaac Washburn. Located at 82 Mayflower Road. Two story. Indented porch on the second floor. Octagonal cupola. Appears to be in excellent condition.
  
  An earlier attempt to built the house out of stone, inspired by a book written in 1850, entittled "The Construction of Round Houses," ended in disaster when poorly mixed mortar was washed out by heavy rains, and the house collapsed. In 1859 the current house, built of wood, replaced the earlier structure. Isaac Washburn was a spiritualist, and subscribed to the notion that a round house would provide the devil nowhere to hide.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The photograph on the left, above, is from the 1930s.
  
  Sources: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt. Bill Sweeney supplied the photograph.Kathleen Murphy. Steven Ziglar, the owner as of 2008, provided many historical details.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: October, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2006.
  Updated: April, 2008.
• Wareham. Octagon house. Built in 1850 11 Fearing Hill Road. A garage was added in 1920. As of 2005 the house is said to be in excellent condition.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The photograph above, left, was taken in 2005 or before.
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: April, 2009.
  Updated October, 2009
  Updated February, 2010

Suffolk County.

• Boston. Octagon lighthouse building. Narrows "Bug" light. Built in 1856.
  Source: Ron Livingston.
  Entered: February, 2002.
• Chelsea. Octagon house. The Bevis Tucker house. Perhaps built in 1838. Now gone. Located at 252 Parkway. Not a regular octagon - four sides were 12 feet long and four were 9 feet long.
  
  Photograph, taken on May 12, 1941, by Frank O. Branzetti.
  
  Source: The Smithsonian HABS project.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: July, 2003.

Worcester County.

• Dudley. Octagon house. The Jacob Baker house Built ca. 1850. Porch removed in 1961. Large addition from the late 19th century. Located on Ramshorn Road. Two story.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer. Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: July, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2009.
• Dudley. Octagon house. Burned. Nothing else known.
  Source: R. Kline.
  Entered: July, 2002.
• Dudley. 12-sided house. The Zephaniah Baker house. Built about 1855. Located at 35 Ramshore Road. Two story. Cut granite foundation. Of the four 12-sided houses built by Baker, this is one of two to survive.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer. Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: October, 2002.
  Updated: May, 2009.
  Updated January, 2010
• East Templeton. Octagon house. The T. T. Greenwood-Orre house. Built in 1855. Three story. Large cupola. Four square rooms on each floor. Located on Main Street, near Cottage Lane.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  The photo on the left, above, top row, was probably taken in the 1950s. The one on the right, top row, was probably taken in or around 1978.
  
  
  Sources: R. Kline "More About Octagons," Carl F. Schmidt. Ellen Puerzer. Templeton Historical Commission.
  Entered: July, 2002.
  Updated: October, 2002.
  Updated: May, 2009.
  Updated October, 2009
• East Templeton. Octagon house. Built in 1870. Two story. No cupola. Located on Cottage Lane, within blocks of the T.T.Greenwood-Orre house.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: Harold Gordon, the current owner. R. Kline "More About Octagons," Carl F. Schmidt. Ellen Puerzer. Templeton Historical Commission.
  Entered: November, 2004.
  Updated: May, 2009.
• Farnumsville. Octagon house. Built in 1855 by Stephen White. According to Dan Malloy, a local historian, the house has been gone for some time as of 2005. A high basement makes the house effective three story. Cupola.
  
  

  Left click on the image for a large version.

  

  
  
  Floor plan.
  
  Map showing location of house.
  
  Robert B. White, who is a great-great-grandson of the builder, relates the following, based on some family genealogical work done in the 1950s:
  
  

  STEPHEN RAWSON WHITE father of Edward Rawson White and grandfather of
  Stephen E. and Merton G. White was a versatile character.  His parents
  Freeborn (Freeburn) White and Abigail Rawson White were married at
  Upton in 1810 but they soon removed to West Boyleston and then to
  Waterville, Vt. and then to Eden Vt.  both in the northern part of the
  state where they located.  Stephen R. was their first child and he
  married Nancy Mowry Fowler at Northbridge and setled at Farnumsville
  in the town of Grafton.  For many years he was overseer of the poor
  for the town of Grafton.  He also served in the state legislature.
  One of his enterprises was buying in Vermont horses cattle cheese and
  butter which he sold in Massachusetts.  For a time he was Station
  Agent for the Providence & Worcester R.R. at Farnumsville.  That was
  before there were any Automobiles, trucks or busses and the railroad
  was the only public carrier.  Of interest is the way they did business
  in that era.  At night he took the days receipts to his house for
  safe keeping and once a month a collector came from Providence to
  gather the money.
  
       About 1855 he build a house at Farnumsville up the hill from the
  RR station following the design of the firm of Fowler & Wells.  The
  idea of the design was that since a circle gave the most area for a
  given perimeter, but was not practical for building, an octagon shape
  should be adopted.  The idea was not good because this shape allowed
  four square rooms and three triangular rooms with such acute angles
  that much of their floor space was not usable.  However quite a number
  such houses were built thruout the country.  I saw one at Oswego
  N.Y. and about 1932 I saw in an Indianapolis Ind paper an item telling
  of the razing of an octagonal house on South Dearborn St and about the
  firm of Fowler & Wells who promoted the idea.  They were versatile men
  and had a considerable following for their magazine on phrenology.
  Concrete was not known then but for the 18" thick walls he used forms
  just as for pouring concrete now filling the space with stones picked
  up on the place with lime mortar to fill the interstices.  The outside
  of both house and barn (which latter was square) was marked off to
  simulate stone blocks and the house was often referred to as the
  stone house.  On account of the thickness of the walls the house as
  very cool in summer and warm in winter and because of the construction
  after 60 years the repair on the outside was only $20.00.  He made a
  contract with the railroad (I have no record of the date) wherby they
  walled up and roofed over a spring on a hill on his woodland and piped
  the water to a water tank at the station for use in their locomotives.
  The pipe also carried water to his house and barn and the contract
  also specifed the amount of and the uses to which the water (over and
  above the needs of the RR) could be put.  Since there was already
  water piped into the house it was possible for my Aunt Abby about 1890
  to install a hot water system of heating and an inside toilet and bath
  room.  There was no other house in the countryside that had these
  conveniences and probably very few even today.
  

  
  
  Source: R. Kline and "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: October, 2002.
  Updated: March, 2005.
  Updated: September, 2008.
• Fiskdale. Octagon house. Built in 1852. Demolished in 1964. A large structure, as the history below explains, it never was a single family residence, instead housing large numbers of people for various purposes.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: Ellen Puerzer. Ellie Chesebrough, Director, Joshua Hyde Library, Sturbridge, Massachusetts.
  Entered: July, 2009.
• Fitchburg. Octagon house. The Johnson-Walker house. Built in 1855. Located on 167 High Street. Two story. 10 rooms, 4 bedroom. Is now a two family unit. A two story porch on three sides. A segment of an 1882 panoramic map shows the house at the center of the image.In 2009 it is clearly in more cramped conditions, but otherwise appears to be in good condition on the outside. It is the only remaining octagon in Fitchburg.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The photograph on the right was taken in 1977 or before.
  
  Sources: Andrew Rasanen. R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: July, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2009.
• Fitchburg. Octagon house. Built in 1849. Now gone.
  Source: R. Kline.
  Entered: September, 2002.
• Fitchburg. Octagon house. Built in 1857. Burned.
  Source: R. Kline, and "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: September, 2002.
• Fitchburg. Octagon house. The Palmer house. Built in 1848-9. Razed in 1925. Located at the corner of Main and Grove Streets. A segment of an 1882 panoramic map shows the house at the center of the image.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The map at bottom row, left, is from an 1854 map of the town of Fitchburg, prepared under the direction of Henry F. Walling, Civil Engineer.
  
  Sources: R. Kline, and "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt. Ellen Puerzer. Bill Durette.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: June, 2009.
  Updated August, 2009
  Updated October, 2009
• Gardner. Octagon house. Built in 1854. Located at 74 Green Street. J.E.Alger was the architect and original owner. Two story. Porch over front entrence. Has a garage that was once a blacksmith shop.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  The photograph above was taken in 1974 or before.
  
  

  Aerial views - no larger size available.

  
  
  Sources: Evan Lattimore. R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: April, 2002.
  Updated: November, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2009.
  Updated January, 2010
• Hopedale. Octagon house. Built in or before 1879. As of 2005, the house has been gone for perhaps 80 years. Two story. Located on Prospect Street. A segment of an 1888 panoramic (or "bird's eye ) map shows the house along the top edge, off Union Street. The third house in Hopedale was located somewhere along the bottom right edge of the image, and was gone by 1888.
  
  A segment of an 1899 panoramic map shows the house at the center of the image.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  Dan Malloy, a local historian, mentions that at least two sources say there were once three octagon houses in Hopedale. He relates that a Utopian socialist commune operated from about 1842 to 1856, and might have had to do with there being three.
  
  1870 map.
  
  Dan Malloy supplied the map above, which shows the location of the three houses in Hopedale. Two of the houses are located at the corner of High Street and Union Street ( map street names - High Street is Dutcher Street in year 2007), near the upper right part of the map. One is labeled the "W. Bancroft" house, and the other the Machine Co. house, one of two properties shown that were owned by the Machine Co., which later became part of a consolidation known as the Draper Company. Who W. Bancroft was is not known at this time. The third is off Hopedale Street, and is near the lower, center, part of the map. It is also labeled "Machine Co."
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Dan Malloy.
  Entered: July, 2002.
  Updated: March, 2005.
  Updated: May, 2005.
  Updated: February, 2007.
  Updated: May, 2009.
• Hopedale. Octagon house. On Dutcher Street. Built before 1879. Now Gone. The house was probably the one on the left in the image below.
  
  Old photograph
  
  A segment of an 1888 panoramic (or "bird's eye ) map shows the house off Dutcher Street, in the middle of the image.
  
  Source: Dan Malloy.
  Entered: May, 2005.
• Hopedale. Octagon house. Gone by 1888. Two story. Porch on both levels. Cupola. Was apparently located on the current site of the Griffen-Dennett apartments. Dan Malloy points out that old newspapers suggest that this house existed, but for now its exact location and fate is unknown. A Utopian socialist commune operated in the Hopedale area between 1842 and 1856, and might have had something to do with three octagon houses being in the town.
  
  Dan Malloy has located an old photograph of the house, likely to the right side, and relates the following information about how the photograph was found, and what it says about where the house was probably located:

  Long-gone Octagons A big housing fad of the nineteenth century was the octagon house. The peak years for this type of construction were about 1846 to 1865. In 1855, the Woonsocket Patriot sent a reporter to Hopedale to do an article about the Community. One of the things that he noted was that, "Of dwelling-houses there are forty-one, including three concrete octagons." Octagons didn't have a very good survival rate and as we know, none of the three have survived. I knew that one of them had been on Prospect Street, but it took a while to find out where the other two had been located. I found the second on the "picture map" that had been originally printed in 1888. (Copies are for sale at the Bancroft Library.) That one was on Dutcher Street, just south of the apartment house across from the fire station. It was evidently razed a short time after the map was drawn. It's not on an undated map that was made some time before 1898, and the National Register Nomination gives the date for the house that's on the site now (home of Craig and Joanne Travers) as c. 1890. A few weeks ago Elaine and I were asked to go to Memorial School to help identify locations in some of the old Hopedale pictures they have. There, in one of the pictures, was the third octagon house I had been wondering about for some time. The view shows the General Draper house (now the site of the high school) on the right, the original Unitarian Church, (on the site of the present Unitarian Church, built in 1898) in the middle, and the octagon house on the left. The picture was taken from the south and it looks at though the octagon was a bit north of where the Griffin-Dennett Apartments are now. The only surviving octagon house I know of in the area is on Fruit Street in Milford. I remember one on Maple Avenue in South Grafton, but that disappeared about twenty years ago. Hopedale does have a newer octagon building; the Father Riley Center at Sacred Heart Church.

  
  
  Source: Dan Malloy.
  Entered: May, 2005.
  Updated: July, 2005.
• Milford. Octagon house. Built in 1854. According to Dan Malloy, a local historian, the house still exists as of year 2005, and is located on Fruit Street.
  
  Photograph - front.
  
  Photograph - left front.
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Dan Malloy supplies information and the photographs.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: March, 2005.
  Updated: September, 2007.
• North Brookfield. Octagon house. Located on Rufus Putnam Road. One window for side. Five electric meters, indicating that this is a rental property, and the house has quite possibly been altered. Stands alone, with no external additions. Chimney in the center.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  Sources: Evan Lattimore. Ellen Puerzer. Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society.
  Entered: April, 2002.
  Updated: May, 2009.
• North Brookfield. Octagon house. Located on Sprint Street. Now gone.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  Sources: Ellen Puerzer. Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society.
  Entered: May, 2009.
• North Brookfield. Octagon house. Located on Grove Street. The residence of Windor Smith, veteran. Demolished in the 1970s.
  Sources: Ellen Puerzer. Robert L. (Bob) Potvin
  Entered: May, 2009.
• Worcester. Richard Barker octagon house. Built in 1855. 312 Plantation Street.Two story. Stucco over stone chips. In 1925 the cupola was removed, and an entry porch added. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer. Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: April, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2009.
• Worcester. The Elias Crawford octagon house. Built in 1851 (possibly 1861). Located on Norwood Street. There is some possibility that Crawford, a cotton manufacturer, purchased the house from someone else in 1870. The house is on the NRHP. Sliding front doors were added after 1977.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: List of octagon houses, Wikipedia. Ellen Puerzer. Peter Stott, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
  Entered: June, 2008.
  Updated October, 2009