PENNSYLVANIA

Bedford County.

• North of Bedford Octagon school. Built 1851. Single story.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger view.
  
  
  Source: Dale Travis.
  Entered: August, 2006
  Updated: February, 2007

Berks County.

• Mt. Pleasant Octagon house. The George Stoudt house. Age unclear. Torn down some time in 1971. Two story. No cupola. Perhaps located on Eight Cornered Road.
  
  Photograph, taken in the summer, 1971, by George M. Meiser, for the Smithsonian HABS project.
  
  Photograph, taken in about 1930. Whether the people in the photograph are the owners of the house is not known.
  
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: February, 2003
  Updated: July, 2003
• Mt. Pleasant Octagon smoke house. Built in 1860. Located on the Konig-Speicher farm. Single story.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Source: HABS PA-258-E
  Entered: March, 2004
• Sinking Spring. Octagon schoolhouse. Built in the 1850s.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: October, 2002

Blair County.

• Bellwood. Round house. Located on North Second Street.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: Octagon, 2002

Bucks County.

• New Hope. Octagon house. Appears to have been built quite early - perhaps 1805 to 1815. On Route 202, by the public school. Once called "Cintra." Three stories. The attic has dormers. Stucco. Ornate wood doors. Brass fixtures, Valley Forge marble in the outer hall. Curving staircase. Recently an antique store. Present usage unknown.
  Source: Joseph S. Loch
  Entered: March, 2002
• Leidytown. Octagon schoolhouse. Built in 1816. Now gone.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: Octagon, 2002
• Lumberville. Octagon schoolhouse. Built in 1824. Converted in 1858 to residential use.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: Octagon, 2002
• Oxford Valley. Octagon schoolhouse. Built about 1840.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: Octagon, 2002
• Wrightstown. Octagon schoolhouse. Penns Park octagonal school house. Built in 1802. Located at the south corner of State Road 232 and Swamp Road.
  
  Contemporary photograph.
  
  Larger view.
  
  Larger version of sign.
  
  Front view.
  
  Left front view.
  
  Rear view.
  
  Sources: HABS PA-5603. Dale Travis provides a photograph.
  Entered: March, 2004
  Updated: July, 2006
  Updated: February, 2007

Butler County.

• Chicora. Octagon house. Nothing else known
  Source: R. Kline.
  Entered: September, 2002

Chester County.

• Birmingham. Octagon schoolhouse. Built in 1819. Located at Birmingham and Meetinghouse Roads.
  
  Photograph
  
  Source: LOC HABS PA-5138.
  Entered: March, 2004
• Downingtown. Octagon schoolhouse. Built in 1818. Two story. Located in east Caln township, east of Downingtown.
  
  Photograph
  
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt. LOC HABS PA-168.
  Entered: October, 2002
  Updated: March, 2004
• Paoli. Hexagon schoolhouse. Diamond Rock schoohouse. Built in 1837. Current status unknown. Located at Yellow Springs Road and Diamond Hill Roads.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Sources: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt. HABS PA-207
  Entered: October, 2002
  Updated: March, 2004
• NW of Thornville. Hexagon schoolhouse. Built 1837.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger view.
  
  Larger version of sign.
  
  
  Source: Dale Travis.
  Entered: February, 2007
  Updated: February, 2007
• Towerville. Octagon house. Lukens Pierce House. Alternatively, the Fallowfield octagon house. Built in 1856. Located at 115 Wilmington Road. Two story. Cupola. Stucco finish. Very good condition.
  
  Lois Mary Hinderling, whose relatives have had a long association with the house, provides the following information:
  
  "This Victorian Octagon House was built in 1856 by Lukens Pierce, one of the largest nurserymen in the country at that time. Constructed by Benjamin Vandever of Coatesville as a residence, the house was formed by a wood frame filled with small field stones mixed with sand, lime and water. A large central stairway leads to the third floor which is topped by a cupola. Once part of 150 acres, this octagon house originally had a porch that wrapped around five sides of the house and was surrounded by many variants of shrubs, fruit trees, ornamental trees and evergreens."
  
  It is interesting to see that even information about the builder is still known.
  
  As of August, 2005, the house is on the market. The realtor can be reached at 610-476-4910.
  
  A porch once existed. While a porch on at least three sides was a standard feature on most of the older houses, they have disappeared on many. They often rotted away with age, and were never repaired or replaced. One can see the porch in the photographs below. It once extended around five sides of the house.
  
  A photograph from about 1895.
  
  The people shown are relatives of Lois Mary Hindering, and a livestock buyer and his son. From right to left are
  
  
• The son of the buyer.
• Nelson Pennock Boyer, owner, and great grandfather.
• Livestock buyer.
• Leroy Boyer, sone of Nelson.
• Blanch Boyer Sullivan - daughter of Nelson, and grandmother.


A photograph from about 1900.

The photographs below were taken in roughly the 1950s, as evidenced by the TV antenna on top of the cupola. In the front left view one can see a line just below the second story windows, showing where a porch attached to the house.

Front right view.

Left view.

Contemporary photograph.

Below is a painting of the house done be Towerville local artist Doris Whitehead Polk, perhaps after 1985.

Painting.

Sources: R. Kline. HABS PA-1139, Dale Travis, Lois Mary Hinderling.
Entered: September, 2002
Updated: March, 2004
Updated: August, 2005

Crawford County.

• Harmonsburg. Octagon house. Two story. Wide, low cupola.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: Octagon, 2002
• Harmonsburg. Octagon house. Built in 1885. Nothing else known.
  Source: R. Kline.
  Entered: September, 2002

Cumberland County

• Newburg. Octagon house.
  Source: Pam Rohland, Central PA magazine.
  Entered: June, 2001.

Deleware County

• Glenolden. Octagon house. Two story. large cupola.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: September, 2002.
• Hawleys. Octagon house. Two story. Wide, low cupola.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: September, 2002.
• Newtown Square. Octagon school. Built in the late 1790s by John Hood. Built of field stone, has seven windows, one door. Used well into the 19th century. The Hood Octagon School House. Located on the Dunwoody Village on West Chester Pike. Photograph There is reason to believe that there were many octagon schools in the Delaware valley in the 1800s.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: June, 2001.

East Montgomery County

• Kulpsville. Hexagon house. The John Boorse House. Perhaps built before 1861. The information below, supplied by Judy Scheehle, provides details about the current efforts to save and restore the house, as well as some historical information. Hexagon houses from the Fowler period of roughly 1848 to 1865 ( opinions vary on the years ) are very rare. Less than five are known. Estimates for octagon houses for the same period range from 1,000 to 5,000. But it's very likely that no one really knows how many were built, and the estimates are little better than guesses.
  
  A piece from the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1997 describes current efforts to move and save the house, as well as photographs:
  
  part 1
  
  part 2 .
  
  A circa 1919 photograph.
  
  Probably a 1950s photograph.
  
  Between 1919 and some time in roughly the 1950s the original porch has been removed. One can see a band of lighter shingles just above the windows and door of the first story, indicating where the original porch was attached. The shutters on the windows have also been removed.
  
  A 1999 photograph of the house being dismantled for storage an later restoration.
  
  Sources: Tim Hollenbec. Judy Scheehle, Milton Hexagon house, Milton, WI, and "More About Octagons," Carl F. Schmidt.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: February, 2002.
  Updated: February, 2003

Fayette County

• Northwest of Uniontown. Octagon toll house. Built in 1835. Partial octagon. Two story.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger view.
  
  Source: Dale Travis
  Entered: September, 2006
  Updated: February, 2007

Franklin County

• Near Bursonville. Octagon schoolhouse.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: October, 2002
• Chambersburg. Round Building. Built in or before 1894. Located a few blocks from the intersection of Philadelphia Avenue and Hazel Street. Function unclear. Possibly a house. A segment of an 1894 map of Chambersburg shows the building at the center of the image.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: August, 2002.

Greene County

• Waynesburg. Three pointed house. Built in or before 1897. Located on West Street, near the intersection with Wayne Street. Two story. Three wings come together to form a three pointed star. A segment of an 1897 map of Waynesburg shows the house at the center of the image.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: August, 2002.

Indiana County

• Indiana. Octagon house. Built in or before 1900. Located on Grant Street, not far from the intersection of Eleventh Street. A segment of an 1900 map of Indiana shows the building at the center of the image.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: August, 2002.

Lawrence County

• New Bedford. 12-sided house. Located off Route 208, at Marr and Cherrywood Roads. Two story.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger view.
  
  
  Source: R. Kline. Dale Travis provides the photograph.
  Entered: September, 2002
  Updated: July, 2006
  Updated: February, 2007
• Pulaski. 12-sided house. Two story. Brick. Located on S.R. 208, west of Pulaski Street.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger view.
  
  
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: October, 2002
  Updated: July, 2006
  Updated: February, 2007

Luzerne County.

• Benton. The Hirlinger octagon house. Built in 1865. Located at the base of Red Rock Mountain, about 2 miles northwest of the intersection of routes 118 and 487
  
  Photographs and history.
  
  Sitting vacant for a period starting in 1940, the house was purchased and somewhat restored by William Kent. Somewhere along the line the house lost the porch. It seems common enough for the large porch on an octagon house to have simply rotted away. Built in a day of essentially free hard woods, the porch might have simply been rebuilt back in the 1800s. Today the cost of materials and labor is such that the porch is more likely to be hauled away and forgotten about.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: February, 2005
• Wilkes-Barre. Octagon house. Built in or before 1889. Located on the corner of Hannover Street and South Main Street. Two Story. Cupola. Needs confirmation. A segment of an 1889 map of Wilkes-Barre shows the building to the right of center of the image.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: August, 2002.

Mercer County

• Sharon. Octagon house. Built in or before 1901. Located on the corner of Elm and East State Streets. Needs confirmation. This might be a tower structure on one of the other houses - these are common in the neighborhood. A segment of an 1901 map of Sharon shows the building at the center of the image.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: August, 2002.

Montgomery County

• Conshohocken. Octagon schoolhouse. Now a residence. Located on North Lane, south of the village.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: Octagon, 2002

Northampton County

• Lower Saucon. Hexagon schoolhouse. Built in 1833. Now gone.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: Octagon, 2002

Northumberland County

• East of Montandon. Octagon schoolhouse. Sodom school. Believed to have been built some time around 1812-1814. Single story. Stone construction, using stone likely quarried right on site.. Used until 1915. All in all the structure is in very good condition, and all but 200 years old now. A new cedar shingle roof will now arrest any further water damage inside. Located on the highway between Montandon and Danville.
  
  The following information is distilled from that provided by Vaughn Murray, a local resident who has a great deal of familiarity with the school.
  
  No longer used after 1915 as a school, it sat dormant for years. It was rennovated at least twice before today's attempts. Once in the 1930s, as a WPA project, and more in the 1960s. A major rebuild had to be performed in 1972 after flood damage. Efforts at rennovation continue in year 2008 as local efforts continue to also add period school furnishings, including old blackboards, and outdoor facilities. Other people have scraped, reglazed, and painted the windows, and acqured a new door. Interior plaster repair and painting will be done in the summer. The exterior stone has been repointed. A period cast-iron stove has also been obtained. Owned by the state until the 1980s, over the years other uses for the structure were contemplated, but a lack of indoor plumbing and electricity were obstacles, although this could apparently still happen, despite the expense. In time the goal is to create a setting to accommodate visitors. Hemmed in by private land, an arrangement for more land around the building has to be worked out yet, and is in progress.
  
  A piece from 1977 includes an undated photo of the school and shows that it once had a belfry. The bell has disappeared. The photo shows that the building was in rough shape before rennovations began.
  
  History & photograph.
  
  Built some time in and around 1812 to 1814, there is a lot of lore surrounding the origins of the house, some perhaps containing some truth, and others pure fabrication. The best description of the interior of the school is from a teacher who taught there in 1878 and 1879. See the piece above.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Photograph. Taken perhaps in the 1950s.
  
  Sources: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt. Dale Travis. Vaughn Murray.
  Entered: October, 2002
  Updated: December, 2003
  Updated: July, 2008
  Updated: August, 2008

Somerset County

• Addison. Octagon toll house. Built in 1835. Partial octagon. Two story.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger view.
  
  Larger view of sign.
  
  
  Source: Dale Travis
  Entered: September, 2006
  Updated: February, 2007

Sullivan County

• Estella. Octagon house. Built about 1858 by William Marsden, a German immigrant. Two stories, cupola, apparently block construction. The house has been massively restored. See detailed descriptions of the house and builder, as well as photographs.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: January, 2002.
  Entered: July, 2006.
• North of Forksville. Octagon house. Built in the 1860s.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger view.
  
  
  Source: Dale Travis, photograph by Jack Schmidt.
  Entered: July, 2006.
  Updated: February, 2007

Susquehanna County

• Great Bend. Octagon house. Built in or before 1887. Two story. Cupola. Located on Church Street, not far from the intersection with John Street. Has additions. A segment of an 1887 map of Great Bend shows the building at the center of the image.
  Source: R. Kline
  Entered: August, 2002.
• Hickory Grove. Octagon schoolhouse. Built in 1818. Now gone.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl F. Schmidt.
  Entered: Octagon, 2002
• Kingsley. Octagon house. Now gone. Used for fire practice. Nothing else known.
  Source: Lorraine Chidester
  Entered: August, 2004.
• Montrose. Octagon house. Built in 1866. Two story. Roof gables on four sides. Located at 6 Ridge Street. Now a bed and breakfast. A segment of an 1890 map of Montrose shows the building at the center of the image.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger view.
  
  Larger view.
  
  
  Sources: Lorraine Chidester, the current owner. Dale Travis and Jack Schmidt provide the photographs.
  Entered: August, 2004.
  Updated: July, 2006.
  Updated: February, 2007

Tioga County

• Osceola. Octagon house. Nothing else known.
  Source: R. Kline.
  Entered: September, 2002

Union County

• Lewisburg. Octagon house. The Dieffenderfer-Mitchell house. Built in the 1850s. Has been restored. Two story. Cupola. Stucco exterior. Very good condition.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Photograph. Taken perhaps in the 1950s.
  
  Sources: Dale Travis. Pam Rohland, Central PA magazine. "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: December, 2003

Wayne County

• West of Starrucca. Octagon house. Built in 1993. While the house was built in 1993, it appears that significant efforts were made to preserve the look of a Fowler house from the 1860s. But for the excellent condition of hte house, it is unlikely that most observers would be aware that the house is contemporary.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Source: Dale Travis.
  Entered: March, 2007.
• Whites Valley. Octagon schoolhouse. Built in 1840.
  
  Photograph taken in 1936.
  
  Photograph of interior, taken in 1936.
  
  Source: R. Kline. Photographs are part of the HABS project, Library of Congress.
  Entered: November, 2003

Wyoming County.

• Laceyville. Octagon house. Wood, with a tin roof. Cupola. Main Street. Built in "the middle 19th century," by George Smith. One of three in NE Pennsylvania. Purchased from George Smith in about 1900 by Abel A. Carter, a local cattle dealer and occupied by him and his descendants until 1959 when it was sold to Al Bluhm.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger version.
  
  
  Sources: Photograph and brief article. Apparently a bi-centennial book about Laceyville was written, and contains information about the house. Photograph provided by Dale Travis.
  Entered: June, 2001. The source is a real estate ad, and may disappear quickly.
  Updated: December, 2005.
  Updated: February, 2007