NEW JERSEY

Atlantic County.

• Hammonton. Octagon house. Built circa 1850s by Henry T. Pressey a wheelright on Central Avenue. His brother George W. Pressey was an inventor and among other things invented the Pressey folding umbrella and a ventilating stove. The American star bicycle and a Brooding incubator were his most famous inventions.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  Sources: Ellen Puerzer. Regina Bell/ Reference Center Manager Principal Librarian Atlantic County Library System /Mays Landing
  Entered: October, 2009.

Bergen County.

• Edgewater. Octagon house. Edgewater was originally a summer resort for wealthy New York families. They stayed at "the luxurious Octagon House built high on the Palisades."
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated November, 2009
• Garfield. Octagon house. Built in 1850 by August Hasbrouck. 23 Orchard Street. Today it is called "the Octagon House." In 1879 the house and 273 acres were sold, and the resulting estate was called "Belmont." A segment of a 1909 map of Garfield shows the house at the center of the image.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: April, 2009.
  Updated: August, 2010
• Montvale. Octagon house. Built in late 1850s by J. J. Blauvelt, Jr. Two story, wood, with small cupola. Characteristic of Fowler's octagonal designs, the house has thick walls. Blauvelt and his wife and three daughters lived in the house until his death in 1882. The house has had many owners over the years, and from 1955 to 1959 was a "very fine restaurant." A newspaper piece, provided by the ELPuerzer archive, contains additional information and photographs.
  
  The images below show the house over the years. It appears to have been mainained very well on the outside. Internally, the house has had many uses over time, so it's unclear how original the inside is.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The photos in the top row, right, and bottom row, left, were taking in 1906. The Restaurant images are from the mid 1950s.
  
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: September, 2002.
  Updated: July, 2007.
  Updated: August, 2010

Cape May County.

• Cape May City. Octagon house. Built for Josiah Schellinger about 1860. Located at 1386 Lafayette Street, just after crossing over a second and smaller bridge when entering Cape May City from the north. Two story. Well maintained. Listed with the National Register of Historic Places.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Photograph, perhaps taken in the 1950s.
  
  The following photograph was taken in the summer of 2006. It's likely that the house is now painted in period colors. There were not a lot of paint colors available in the 1860s. Most were quite drab, with the exception of blue and red. Unless the colors were mentioned in a diary, or some other document, the colors are probably just a reasonable guess - it's not known how the owners selected the color scheme.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The undated images above are from the HABS project.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Today the house appears to be in about the same condition as it was in the 1950s. A guess, perhaps its primary function as a summer residence allowed it to escape the incessant modifications seen by most year around octagon homes.
  
  Below are some interior views of the house, taken in 2009.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  Sources: Don Gilligan, who also provided the contemporary photograph, and "More About Octagons," Carl F. Schmidt. Ellen Puerzer. HABS project.
  Entered: May, 2002.
  Updated: October, 2002.
  Updated: June, 2009.
  Updated August, 2009
  Updated: September, 2011

Essex County.

• Newark. The Newcomb octagon house. Possibly built in 1890. The wing, assuming it not built at the same time, already existed in 1926. Located at 402 South 10th Street, NE. Each wall of the octagon is 10 feet long. After a foreclosure in 2006, the property was purchased by Fausto Gonzalez for $340,000.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered November, 2009
• Orange. Octagon house. Built in or before 1856.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  1856 for sale notice.

  
  
  The piece above is from the NY Daily Tribune, December 3, 1856.
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered September, 2009

Hudson County

• Arlington Irregular octagon house. Located at Oakwood Avenue and Chestnut Street. Built in 1880 or before. Needs confirmation.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered August, 2010.

Mercer County.

• Hightstown. Octagon house. Built in the 1840s by J.S. ELy for a doctor Calvin Bartholomey, a homeopathic physician who may have subscribed to some health notions promoted by Orson Fowler. The house was later owned by one Carrie Hutchinson, who added many decorations, and died in the house. Subsequent owners added things as well. Located at 239 Main street. Two story, stucco, cupola. Faculty housing, it is located on the Peddie School campus.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: Maurice Shuman. Ellen Puerzer. Frances Cook.
  Entered: January, 2002.
  Updated: May, 2009.
  
  
• Trenton Octagon house. Built in the 1850s. It was referred to as the old octagon house in a 1910 newspaper piece. It was owned by Joseph Potts, and, later, Samuel K. Wilson. Located at 212 Greenwood Avenue. The address does not exist in year 2011, and it's likely the land the house once sat on has been significantly modified, with the introduction of freeways, new homes, and commerical structures in the area. The interior of the house was salvaged, and the house razed after 1905 to make room for smaller houses.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The newspaper piece at the left, bottom row, above, is from the Trenton Sunday Times-Adviser, October 23, 1960.
  
  Sources: Ellen Puerzer. Trenton Library, Matt Metcalf, Assistant at Trenotniana, and Wendy Nardi.
  Entered: March, 2011.
  Updated: November, 2011

Monmouth County.

• Belford ( Middletown ). Octagon house. Probably built 1853, by Henry Lube. Located at 25 Church Street. According to Donald Schulze the house was gutted by a fire in 1975. The house was razed, although he town attempted to restore it, as seen in the articles below. A brand new house was erect, resembling the original.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: Robert Erdman. Donald Schulze supplied the photograph and other details. Ellen Puerzer. Randy Gabrielan, President, Monmouth County Historical Society.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: March, 2004.
  Updated: July, 2010
  Updated: February, 2011
• Bradley Beach. Octagon house. Age unclear, but it was probably built around 1875. The house has likely been modernized some on the outside - windows, roof, and perhaps siding, so its age might be deceptive. Single story. Porch on three sides. Four dormers.
  
  Context of the house.
  
  Front right view.
  
  Front view.
  
  Source: Stephen Miller, who also provided the photographs.
  Entered: June, 2002.

Morris County.

• Boonton. Octagon house. The Garrett. V. S. Rickards Octagon House, at 211 Cornelia Street. Built in 1854. Rickards and Myers sought employment at the Troy, NY, iron works while the Boonton Iron Works were temporarily shut down. Seeing octagon homes in the Troy area, they bought land from the Booton Iron Works when they returned around 1854 and constructed octagon homes. Slag from the Iron Works was used in place of grave in the concrete, in keeping with Orson Fowler's edict to built the houses at the lowest possible cost.
  The current owner recently obtained the house from a grandfather, who owned it for 70 years. He is now in the process of a complete restoration.
  
  Front view.
  
  Front left view.
  
  Back right view.
  
  Front right view.
  
  
  As of July, 2008, the house has been completely restored.
  
  See a number of interior and exterior views of the house following its restoration.
  
  

  Interior and exterior views.
  

  Left click on the image below for larger version.
  
  
  
  The image above shows related octagon houses at both 211 and 224 Cornelia Street.
  
  Sources: Candace Grant; Donald A. Di Vite, the current owner, supplied the photographs.Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: January, 2003.
  Updated: July, 2008.
  Updated: August, 2008.
  Updated: April, 2009.
• Boonton. Octagon house. The Nathaniel A. Myers Octagon House, at 224 Cornelia Street. Built in the early 1850s. Rickards and Myers sought employment at the Troy, NY, iron works while the Boonton Iron Works were temporarily shut down. Seeing octagon homes in the Troy area, they bought land from the Booton Iron Works when they returned around 1854 and constructed octagon homes. Slag from the Iron Works was used in place of grave in the concrete, in keeping with Orson Fowler's edict to built the houses at the lowest possible cost.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: Candace Grant. Ellen Puerzer. Jennifer Coultas, Boonton, NJ, Historical Society.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: April, 2009.
  Updated: May, 2009.
  Updated: June, 2010
• Riverdale. Octagon house. Two story. Large cupola. Razed in 1973.
  
  Photograph.
  
  
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl F. Schmidt.
  Entered: October, 2002.

Salem County.

• Penns Grove. Octagon school house. Single story. Field stone construction. Present status unknown. The source lists the location as Penn's Grove, Pennsylvania, but there is presently no town by this name.
  
  Photograph,
  possibly taken in the1950s.
  
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl F. Schmidt.
  Entered: October, 2002.

Somerset County

• Somerville. The Richard Hoaglund octagon house. Built in 1854. 57 S. Bridge Street, on the intersection of Franklin Street. Two story. Apparently brick, but painted. Cross gabled metal roof. A Queen Anne tower with a shingle conical roof was added later. A large, ornate carriage house in the back has sadly disappeared within the last six months, and is now a black top parking lot. Looking at the four views shown in the photographs below, it appears that the house has been modified many times over the years, and is now at least a duplex. The gables on four of the sides are somewhat unusual. A segment from an 1882 panoramic map, shows the location and setting of the house. It is located at the center of the image, but is somewhat hard to discern because the four gables somewhat hide the fact that the house is octagonal.

  Side entrance, showing one of the many additions likely made to the house.

  Original front entrance. Franklin Street did not exist a few years ago, and this entrance would not have been on the corner. The asphalt on the lower right side, just behind the black fence, is about where the carriage house was up until about August, 2001.

  Back entrance. It's clear that the house has become some kind of rental property. Looking at the 1882 panoramic map, there is reason to believe that the rectangular addition in the back is old, if not clearly original. Appearing in the panoramic map, it is older than the round structure, which is not original with the house either, since it does not appear in the 1882 panoramic map above.

  
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The 1873 map, bottom row, right, above, shows an ornate carriage house. It was not there in the 1858 map, bottom row, left, above, and was razed by about 2000.
  
  Sources: Robert Kline. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: January, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2009.
  Updated: January, 2011
  Updated: February, 2011

Warren County

• Hackettstown. Octagon house. Built in 1859, by Joseph Rice. On Washington Street. Brick. One story porch encircles the house. Located at 650 Washington Street.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer provides the drawing and the aerial photograph. Donna Brock, President, Hackettstown Historical Society.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: March, 2009.
  Updated: April, 2009.
• Hope. Octagon schoolhouse. Built in 1835.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: October, 2002.
• Johnsonburg. Octagon house. Built in 1853, by John C. Gibbs, a carpenter. Located on Dark Moon Road. An 1874 map shows it as the home of Mrs. Hart. Being restored as of about 1990. The outer sutcco has been removed. Nicolas Latimer owned the home from 2003 to 2010..
  
  The images below show the house over the years. The exterior stucco has been removed, and work done to the inside. Whether the bare interior stone walls are in any way a renovation is unclear.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: May, 2009.
  Updated: September, 2011
  Updated: November, 2011
• Knowlton. Octagon schoolhouse. The Fairview school, Warren County, built in 1835 is located on Dean Rd on the Fairview cemetery grounds. Stucco exterior shown on undated photo. It was replaced with a new schoolhouse in 1897. Cost of building was $100. Still standing where Dean Rd becomes Aubile Rd but boarded up.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: December, 2011.
• Mount Herman. Octagon schoolhouse. Built in 1835 for Amos Adams, by carpenter George Flummerfelt. Stone walls, and a shingle roof, later replaced with slate.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: October, 2002.
• Port Colden. Octagon schoolhouse. Built in 1792.
  
  1895 photograph
  
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: July, 2007.