WISCONSIN

Brown County.

• Green Bay. Octagon house. Built in the 1860s. By or for Frederick Decker? Now gone. Located at east end of Mill Street. Single story.No cupola. appears to be concrete construction. An undated photograph appears below.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The newspaper piece above is from the Milwaukee Journal, July 25, 1943.
  
  Source: R. Kline.Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2002
  Updated: March, 2009
  Updated February, 2010

Crawford County.

• Prairie du Chien. The Alonzo Benedict octagon house. Built in 1853. Razed in 1970. Located on Marquette Road. Rumor has it that the house was taken down with the thought of rebuilding it somewhere else at a later time, but nothing ever came of it, and it is now fairly certain the house is gone.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  

  The photograph above, left, is circa 1940.

  
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2002
  Updated October, 2009
  Updated: February, 2011
  Updated: April, 2011

Dane County.

• Belleview. Octagon schooolhouse. Built in 1847.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: January, 2012
• Madison. Octagon house. It's said there were once five octagon houses in Madison. Details are available at this time only for the three shown below.
  
  
• Madison. Octagon house. Built in 1852-4 for Wisconsin governor Leonard J. Farwell, it was later modified and used as a civil war hospital, then an orphans home, and finally a seminary/prep-school. It burned down in 1893.
  
  The house originally had both a stone barn and stone stable, each 160 feet in circumference. As shown in the Sanborn Map below, at least on of them still existed in 1892.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Top left, above, an early image, provided by the ELPuerzer archive, shows the structure when it was an orphan's home.
  
  The photograph top row, middle is undated. It seems to show the Farwell house from a distance.
  
  The photograph top row, right, circa 1866 to 1870, shows the house when it was the Soldiers Orphans home.
  
  The photograph in the second row above, left, circa 1876, shows the house when used as a seminary/prep-school.
  
  The photograph in the second row above, middle, shows Leonard Farwell in an undated photograph.
  
  The newspaper piece above is dated 1919.
  
  The Sanborn Map, bottom row, right, shows the octagonal barn that went with the house.
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer. Wisconsin State Historial Society. Wisconsin State Journal May 6, 1923.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: July, 2009.
  Updated: July, 2010
  Updated: March, 2011
• Madison. Octagon house. Built in 1856. Burned in 1976. Located at 121 West Wilson. As the neighborhood around it changed, the structure changed from a home to a commercial structure. A last minute attempt to restore the home was thwarted by a fire, in which it was gutted, and is now gone. The following photographs, provided by the ELPuerzer achieve, show the structure in different phases of its existence.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: Kevin Berner, Ellen Puerzer. Wisconsin State Journal May 6, 1923.
  Entered: September, 2002
  Updated: March, 2011
  Updated: January, 2012
• Madison Octagon house. Mentioned in a December 29,1869, newspaper piece, as having burned down because of a faulty chimney. Made of brick.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered December, 2010.

Dodge County.

• Horicon. Octagon house. Built in 1855 or so. Located at 219 Valley Street. Current owner is Paul Kruel. Possibly brick.
  
  
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The images in the top row, left, is from 1914, and is provided by the ELPuerzer archive.
  
  
  Photograph
  
  Sources: Ginny Seaholm, Dale Travis, Ellen Puerzer, and Ron Buege.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: March, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2006.
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: March, 2011
  Updated: July, 2011
• Beaver Dam. Octagon house. Built in 1865 by hardware merchant Rudolph C. Gaton. Originally located on College Avenue. Now University Avenue. Each side was twelve feet long. Cupola, now gone. In 1882 veterinarian Nathan Phelps purchased the house, and squared up the front, and removed the second floor of the rear half. Sadly, squaring up octagon houses was not totally rare, and it's perhaps the case that several octagon houses have not be identified for just this reason. See the house at 416 Erie, in Albion, Calhoun county, MI, for another example. Just driving by, one would never suspect the house was ever once an octagon house.
  
  In 1952 the house was sold once again, after almost 70 years, and yet more modifications were made, this time to the interior. The following photograph., description by Carl Schmidt, and current status have been provided by the ELPuerzer archive. The house has been so significantly modified that it's difficult to envision it as a two story octagon. Perhaps a pre 1882 photograph of the houses exists somewhere.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The image in the first row, right, above, shows a bird's eye view of the house in 1867. At this time it was a true octagon. The images in the second row, above show, the house in the process of being partially squared off, in the 1890s, as well as work being done on the remaining octagon half. Usually, four of the corners of a house are filled in. This change is unusual. The bottom row, right, is an aerial view of the house showing its setting. Apparently the modification work has been completed.
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2002
  Updated: January, 2007
  Updated January, 2010
  Updated: October, 2010
  Updated: December, 2011

Douglas County.

• Superior. Octagon house. The house was purchased by a relative of the current owners in 1917. How much older than that it is is not known. An undated newspaper piece, below, mentions the house is not registered as a historic house. Two story. Large cupola. Very good condition, but, characteristically, the interior has been modified. The owners as of the publication of the piece below are apparently not interested in the historical aspects of the house, and therefore preserving anything for just that reason. They are long term residents of the house, apparently also growing up there.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  All of the photographs above are undated.
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2002
  Updated November, 2009

Dunn County.

• Downsville Near Menomonee. Octagon school.

  This school reportedly built in late 1800s in Highway C in Downsville served for 50 yrs as a school. In 2007 John Thomas purchased and moved it to Creasey St (Highway 25 and C) a mile distance,where he and his wife opened it as a pottery shop and tourist center. Floor joists and wall plaster was replaced, drywall added. One beam marked 1894 might be the date of construction.

  Some original windows remain after remodeling as well as a few light fixtures. The 800 sq foot. building is below grade in back making it 1 1/2 stories. Undated newspaper photo shows it prior to remodeling.

  
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2010
  Updated: December, 2011

Eau Claire County.

• Augusta. Octagon house. Built in the 1880s. Highway 12 just west of Main St. Austin House. Clapboard exterior. It had a marble fireplace and open stairway in living room. Large glassed in porch behind. The postmaster of Augusta lived there in 1950s and in 1960s it was rented and allowed to run down. Torn down in 1969 for neighboring Baptist church expansion.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Photographas by Ruth Jenks, June 1955.
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer. Kimberly Zunker Cook, Wisconsin Historical Society.
  Entered: September, 2002
  Updated August, 2009
• Eau Claire. Kidder octagon house. Built in 1857 corner of Farwell and Seaver by Rev Alberoni Kidder who lived there a year and began First Congregational church in the house. By 1857 or 1858 a Mr. McNair lived there. Joseph Thorp who started the Eau Claire Lumber Co. owned it for a few years before building his own mansion. He sold it for $5,000 in 1867 to a man named Andrew Jackson who owned a jewelry store in town for 50 years. Other owners,G. E. Porterand a Mr. Putnam It was torn down according to newspaper article of July 16, 1903
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Bottom row, right, an 1897 Sanborn map image.
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer. Isa, Reference Assistant, Eau Claire Library.
  Entered: June, 2009
  Updated August, 2009
  Updated: January, 2012
• Eau Claire. Octagon house. Located at 501 Second Avenue. Originally owned by A. J. Lawton. A fire in February, 1896, burned the roof off, causing about $300 of damages. At this time the house was owned by W.J.Starr, and was occupied by Henry Zimmer, an employee of Cutter's shoe factory.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: June, 2009
  Updated August, 2009

Fond du Lac County.

• Brandon. The Markardt octagon house. Built in 1845. No cupola. Located on Route 2, about two miles east of Brandon. The photos below are from 1978.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer. Jim Laird, President, Waupun Historical Society.
  Entered: September, 2002
  Updated: March, 2009
  Updated: July, 2009
• Fond Du Lac. Hexagon business building. Built in the 1860s by John Macy for use as a library. Located on Hwy 45 Route 2. Two story. An old photograph provided by the ELPuerzer archive.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger version.
  
  Source: Dale Travis and Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: March, 2002
  Updated: September, 2002
  Updated: January, 2007.
• Fond Du Lac. Octagon house. Built in 1860. Located on 171 Forest Avenue. Two story. As of March, 2006, work is being done on the porch. A segment of an 1867 map of Fond Du Lac shows the building at the center of the image.
  
  Photograph & location.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: Dale Travis and Ron Buege supplied the photographs.
  Entered: March, 2002
  Updated: March, 2006
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: December, 2011
• Fond Du Lac. Octagon house. Built in 1856. Two story. The Second story consists of four large dormers. Located at 276 Linden.
  
  Photograph & location.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Museum.
  
  Sources: Dale Travis. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: March, 2002
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: July, 2011
  Updated: December, 2011
• Ripon. Octagon house. Woodruff house. Built in 1852. Located at 610 Liberty Street. Two story. Large cupola. Kate Miller, who lived in the house as a child, relates the following information:
  
  The house is constructed of poured cement, which makes it very sturdy. It was built in 1867 and remodeled in the early 20th century (approximately 1911, I think). The addition was constructed at this time. One of the main reasons the house was remodeled was that the owner's wife was an invalid, so he had to carry her up the stairs to bed every evening. During remodeling, the staircase was opened to make this process easier. I do not know if the cupola is similar to the original structure; it wasn't there when I lived in the house. The house has a large, rough basement with many rooms. The main floor currently has a large living room with a bay window, a formal dining room, a large kitchen, a small pantry, a library/office, and a bathroom. Upstairs, the house has four bedrooms and (I believe) two bathrooms. One other interesting feature of the house is that the door to the basement features a latch that dates to the mid-1700s.
  
  A segment of an 1867 map of Ripon shows the building at the left of center of the image, on Liberty Street, between Locust and Cedar Streets.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Photograph 1.
  
  Larger version.
  
  Source: Dale Travis and Ron Buege provide the photograph. Kate Miller lived in the house, and provided detailed information. Ellen Puerzer. Oskkosh Daly Northwester, January 23, 1975.
  Entered: July, 2002
  Updated: April, 2006
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: March, 2011
• Ripon. Octagon school. Built in or before 1867. Located off of what is today called Park Street, between Cedar and Union Streets. Two Story. Cupola. Is likely the school house shown in the image of the building is provided by the ELPuerzer archives. The ELPuerzer archives also provides the following
  
  photograph.
  
  A date is not specified, but it appears the photo could be from the late 1800's.
  
  A segment of an 1867 map of Ripon shows the building at the right of center of the image, near the right end of Cedar Street.
  
  The school was searched for in March, 2006, and could not be located.
  
  Sources: R. Kline, Ellen Puerzer, and Ron Buege.
  Entered: August, 2002.
  Updated: September, 2002.
  Updated: March, 2006.
  Updated: May, 2006.
• Ripon. Octagon house. Built in 1853. Now gone. Located on 508 State Street. Single Story. Cupola.
  Source: R. Kline.
  Entered: September, 2002.
• Ripon. Octagon house. Built in 1860. Razed in 1972. Located on the west end of Liberty Street. Two story.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Source: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer. Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, May 25, 1972.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2011
• Ripon. Octagon house. Built in or before 1867. Located about a block south of the corner of Ransom and Watertown Streets. Two story. A segment of an 1867 map of Ripon shows the building at the left of center of the image, The map is inverted and rotated. Watertown Street is north of Sullivan and Belleview Streets. Current status unknown. A search in March, 2006, did not locate the house.
  Sources: R. Kline and Ron Beuge.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: March, 2006.
• Rosendale. The George Sizer Octagon House. Built in 1877. N5859 State Highway 26.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  
  Sources: Ellen Puerzer. Jim Laird, President, Waupun Historical Society.
  Entered: July, 2009.

Forest County.

• Crandon. Octagon house. Built in 1900. Located at 206 South Metonga. Wall material is asbestos.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.
  
  

  
  
  Source: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2002
  Updated August, 2009

Grant County.

• Bagley. Octagon house. Built in 1897. Razed in 1954. Appears to be poured concrete.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The photographs above were taken in 1952.
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer. Kimberly Zunker Cook, Wisconsin Historical society, AHI #112980, WHS HPPH.
  Entered: September, 2002
  Updated August, 2009
• Lancaster. Octagon house. Built in 1855 red brick.. Razed in 1960. Located on Elm and Grant Streets. Two story. It was 1855 when Holloway bought the land. It had a spiral staircase crafted from one piece of metal. Peter Henkel family took possession in 1884 and that family lived here for 20 years. John Henkel a nephew of Peter lived in the octagon while he attended high school.The Henkels ran a general store in town for years. By 1908 Adolph Webking family lived there until 1919 . Dallas and Louisa Webking, siblings, were both born there. Lancaster Canning Co and Lou Henkel owned property in 1952. A Miss Ruth Jenks interviewed the family in 1952 to garner these facts.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Source: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer. Kimberly Zunker Cook, Wisconsin Historical Society, AHI #112981, WHS HPPH.
  Entered: September, 2002
  Updated August, 2009
• Platteville. Octagon house. Built in 1856, by a Captain Overton. Located at the corner of Main and Washington Streets. Razed in 1897. Two stories, five rooms.
  Source: Cheryl D. Lemanski, Archives Assistant, UW-Plattevie.
  Entered: September, 2002
  Updated: February, 2011

Green County.

• Monroe. Octagon components. Each octagon shares a wall with a square room in the center. The general Francis H. West home. Built in 1860. Located at 1410 17th Avenue. Two story. Brick construction. Cupola. Porch on at least five sides of one octagon component.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger version.
  
  Source: Dale Travis.
  Entered: June, 2002
  Updated: January, 2007
  Updated: December, 2010
• Monroe. Octagon house. Built in the 1850s. Razed in the 1930s. Located on 7th Avenue. Two story.
  Source: R. Kline.
  Entered: September, 2002
  Updated: January, 2007.

Jefferson County

• Northwest of Fort Atkinson. Octagon house. Built in 1849 ( Some say 1853. ) by William Eustus. Originally, the exterior was quarry stone. The second owner, Richard Krull, cemented the exterior. By 1930, Arthur Gafke purchased the home and named it the Octagonda Farm. Two story. Stucco. Porch on three sides, one filled in to form a porch.
  
  An 1879 history of Jefferson County states the house is the only octagon house in Oalkand township.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The photograph in the top row, left, above is undated. The photographs in the bottom row, middle and right, are are dated 1952.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger version.
  
  Sources: Dale Travis. Ellen Puerzer. Wisconsin State Historical Society. Dave and Joyce Coleman, the owners as of year 2010.
  Entered: March, 2002
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: March, 2009.
  Updated: July, 2010
  Updated: November, 2010
• Jefferson. Octagon house.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: October, 2002.
• Rome. Irregular pentagon house. Built in or before 1891, and rented for a time by the Hinkel family.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: Ellen Puerzer. Kathy Flood, Sullivan, WI, historian.
  Entered: January, 2010
• Watertown. Octagon House. Brick, five stories, 57 rooms, with cupola. Built 1854; now museum, operated by Watertown Historical Society. 919 Charles Street. In 1939 the last son of the original owner of the house was sold to the Watertown HS for one dollar, with the provision the house be open to the public. A lot of the furnishings are from the family. The wallpaper in the nursury room is original Richards family wallpaper. The rest has been duplicated.
  
  Photograph. Date taken is not clear. It shows the house with all of the porches gone, and probably before any restoration work was done. It was very common for the porches on old octagon houses to rot away. The cost of replacing them in a day of very expensive wood is mostly prohibitive, and most often is not done. Some time in the 1980s $100,000 was raised to restore the porches. The restoration appears to be quite authentic.
  
  An early rendition of the house also shows the builder, John Richards, provided by the ELPuerzer archive.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  

  Photograph

  
  

  Brief article, photo.

  
  
  

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  The two postcard images above, top row, are undated. A guess for the one on the left is 1900. The newspaper piece on the left, bottom row, is dated July 25, 1943. The HABS photo on the right, bottom row, is undated.
  
  The photographs below, taken in July, 2009, were supplied by Ellen Puerzer.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: The Octagon Fad (photo), pp. 124-125, 152, Jerry Freeze. Ron Beuge provided a group of photographs. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: March, 2002.
  Updated: July, 2003.
  Updated: April, 2006.
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: July, 2009.
  Updated: August, 2011
  Updated: September, 2011
  Updated: January, 2012
• Watertown. Octagon house. Built in about 1853 for Edwin B. Quiner, a newspaper editor. Demolish in about 1920. Located at 505 North Washington Street. ( Caution: in 1867 at least, there were Washington streets on both sides of the river. ) Elm Street and Water Street are the other two boundary streets. Two Story. Brick construction. Cupola. Porch. A segment of an 1867 map of Watertown shows the building at the center of the image.
  
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  All photos and articles except the one on the bottom row, right, are copyrighted by the Watertown Historical Society and cannot be used on any other site or in any publication without express written permission of the WHS.
  
  Sources: R. Kline and Ellen Puerzer. William F. Jannke III, President, Watertown Historical Society.
  
  Entered: August, 2002.
  Updated: September, 2002.
  Updated: July, 2010
• Watertown. Octagon house. Location of the Oak Hill Cemetery. Nothing else known.
  Source: R. Kline.
  Entered: September, 2002.

La Crosse County.

• West Salem. Octagon House. The Palmer-Lewis octagon house. Built in 1856 by Dr. Horace Palmer. Two story. Porch on three sides, on the first and second floors. Originally located on the Nashonic River and moved when the railroad went through to 358 North Leonard Street.
  
  Constructed of oak beams and walls with brick lining and and sawdust insulation. The barn was attached directly to the house. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is now maintained by the West Salem Historical Society.
  
  In October, 2007, the house was to be moved to a 2.5 acre site provided by la Crosse County, at W3362 Highway 16, which is almost the exact place where the house was originally located. The move was necessitated by development of the land where the house previously stood, and for now saves the house from destruction.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  

  Aerial views:

  
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger version.
  
  Source: Dale Travis.
  Entered: March, 2002
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: January, 2008.
• North of West Salem. Octagon House. Built about 1857 by Dr. Palmer's brother, Monroe Palmer. Moved from another location, and then attached to another house. Two story. Porch on three sides, on the first floor.
  
  

  Aerial views:

  
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger version.
  
  Source: Dale Travis.
  Entered: June, 2002
  Updated: January, 2007.

Milwaukee County

• Milwaukee. Octagon House. The Linus Dewey-Jenkins house. Also know as the Brown house. Built 1855. Now gone. Located at 1631 North Fourth Street. Two story, cupola, and porch on at least three sides. The chimneys and porch posts were octagonal.
  The following undated photographs are provided by the ELPuerzer archive:
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The bird's eye image, bottom row, right, is from an 1878 map.
  
  Sources: Kevin Berner, Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: March, 2002
  Updated: September, 2002
  Updated: May, 2011
• Milwaukee. Octagon House. Built 1855, by Daniel Richards, who started the first Milwaukee newspaper. Located at 2443 N. Gordon Pl. The original address was 891 Bolton Street, until 1930. Single story. Said to be one of three known to have been built in Milwaukee.
  The house was re-sided in 1970. This early photograph of the house, provided by the ELPuerzer archives, shows the house before it was re-sided. Probably much before.
  
  Photograph 1, perhaps taken in the 1950s.
  
  Photograph 2.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The newspaper piece, and the sketch, bottom row, above, are from the Milwaukee Journal, August 21, 1954.
  
  Sources: Photo.; Ellen Puerzer, "More About Octagons," Carl F. Schmidt, Dale Travis, and Ron Buege.
  Entered: June, 2000.
  Updated: September, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2006.
  Updated: March, 2010
• Milwaukee. Octagon House. Built before the Civil War, by candy maker George Gordon. The house and land were donated to Milwaukee, and became Gordon Park, and the house was torn down shortly thereafter. Single story.
  
  A photograph of the house is provided by the ELPuerzer archives.
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2002.

Outagamie County.

• Grand Chute. Octagon House. Tax records show it was built in 1859. Located at 2407 N. Ballard Road. "Farm house of the late Porter Ballard." Two story. Porch around at least five sides. As of year 2011 the house has been complete remodeled and is now a square house.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  As of year 2010 the house, as seen on the right, above, has been altered to the point that there is little evidence from the outside that it is octagonal at all.
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: June, 2004.
  Updated: November, 2010
  Updated: October, 2011
• Hortonville. Octagon House. Built in 1865. The Nye/Hanson home, 124 W. Bath Street, WI, 54944. Two story, three porches, cupola removed in 1930 when a central chimney was added for furnace heat. Has a back addition.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger version.
  
  Source: Marily Hanson and Dale Travis.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: March, 2002.
  Updated: January, 2007.

Ozaukee County.

• North of Cedarburg. Octagon house. Single story. Was a school. An early photograph of the house is provided by the ELPuerzer archives. Located off Cover Bridge Road. Was called Pleasant Valley school, and erroneously listed as being in Port Washington in a 1958 advertisement.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  A contemporary photograph.
  
  Sources: Dale Travis and Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: March, 2002
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: December, 2011

Racine County.

• Racine. Octagon light house. Racine Reef Light House. Age unclear.
  
  Postcard.
  
  Source: Jerry Freeze.
  Entered: March, 2004.

Rock County.

• Milton. Hexagon house. Built 1844. Three story. Milton was once called Prairie du Lac. Apparently renamed Milton after Milton Goodrich, an early settler in the area. Poured concrete wall construction. Now a museum. It's said that Orson Fowler researched his building materials at this site. By 1955 the long addition was gone.
  
  There's some evidence to support the notion that this particular house was part of an underground railroad, including a letter from Ezra Goodrich, son of Joseph. Ezra resigned from the Templars for his activities in aiding slaves. A tunnel for slaves extended from an 1841 cabin, still standing, at the back of the property, in to the Milton House basement. There's no good reason to believe that hexagon and octagon houses in general were part of any systematic underground railroad activities. Agents coming to the north to locate escaped slaves would surely have picked up on any such activities quickly.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The photographs above show that the Milton House was once a good size hotel, even if the octagon portion of it was a relatively small fraction of the entire structure. Over time the large extention was apparently pared. The photograph on the left, above, is possible circa 1930.
  
  

  Photograph.

  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The cabin shown above is the Milton Goodrich cabin, dating from about 1838, and recently restored. A tunnel connected the cabin to the hotel at some point.
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Dale Travis. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: March, 2002.
  Updated: July, 2010
  Updated: April, 2011

Sauk County

• Near Sauk City. Round house. The Martin Zezh house. Built about 1931. Two story wood house with round cupola.
  
  Larger version.
  
  A sketch gives some idea of what the house looked like.
  Source: The Octagon Fad (photo), pp. 141, 180, and Kevin Berner.
  Entered: March, 2002
  Updated: January, 2007.

Sheboygan County.

• Sheboygan Falls. Octagon house. Built in 1862, by Otis Hubbard. Razed in 1963. Stood at 851 Fond Du Lac Avenue. Single story. Brick construction. Two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and bath. An early photograph shows the house had French doors instead of windows, and no porch. Perhaps in the early 20th century the windows were changed, and the porch added. A second story was planned, but Hubbard enlisted in the army during the Civil War and was relocated to Tiffin, Ohio. In 1868 Lorenz Ortmayer owned the house and made improvements in 1869, perhaps completing the home. In 1872 it was sold to Thomas Eichhorn, and it became known as the Eichhorn house. By 1958 the brick was painted. The last owners were the Frank Holdens.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  
  

  
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2002
  Updated: February, 2009
  Updated: April, 2011
• Greenbush. Octagon school. Built before 1888.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The item above is from The Sheboygan Press, March 23, 1956.
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: March, 2011

St. Croix County

• Hudson. Octagon house. Built in 1855 ( some sources say 1854 ) by Phillip Brady for John Shaw Moffat and his wife and only daughter Mary: now headquarters of the St. Croix Valley Historical Society. Located at 1004 Third Street. Two story. The cupola was added in 1860, and at the same time the pitch of the roof was flattened some. A library and bedroom were added to the first floor around 1870. Originally wood sided, the stucco exterior was added in 1916.
  
  A segment of an 1870 map of Hudson shows the building at the center of the image. The addition shown in a more recent photograph ( a library and bedroom ) was already in place by 1870. The house has been kept up very well.
  
  Edgar Wright supplies the following history: "Visitor's Guide St. Croix Valley: History of the Octagon House In 1855, only 15 years after the first settlers landed on the shores of the Willow River, Judge John Moffit, a Hudson resident for one year, and his wife, moved into the octagon house he had built on the outskirts of town. Moffit and his descendants lived in the unusual eight-sided house until 1957. In 1964, the historical society purchased it and opened the museum the next year."
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger version.
  
  Photograph - about 1877.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Early photograph.
  
  Postcard image.
  
  When the small photograph above was taken is unclear, but it appears to show the house with the original porch arrangement, before some sections were enclosed. As so often happens, a large number of attachments were made to the house over the years.
  
  Sources: L. List; L. Kestenbaum; The Octagon Fad, p. 121, Dale Travis, Edgar Wright, and Ron Beuge.Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: March, 2002
  Updated: April, 2006
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: April, 2009.

Vernon County.

• Pleasant Valley. Octagon house.
  Source: "More About Octagons," Carl Schmidt.
  Entered: October, 2002.

Walworth County.

• Elkhorn. Octagon house. The Elderkin House. Built in 1856. Located at 127 S. Lincoln Street. Two story. Cupola. Porch on three sides. Brick. As shown in the photographs below, the house appears to be in wonderful condition.
  
  Photograph 1.
  
  Larger version.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: Dale Travis. Ronald M. Buege. Ellen Puerzer. HABS project.
  Entered: March, 2002
  Updated: April, 2006
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: March, 2010
• Fontana. Octagon house. Appears to have been built around 1900. Two story. Two sides are elongated.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger version.
  
  Source: Dale Travis.
  Entered: June, 2002
  Updated: January, 2007.
• Genoa (Junction) City. Octagon house. Built in 1852. Owned, and built, by the father of W.J.Miller, who owned a carriage manufacturing company. Two story. Cupola. It stayed in the family for over 100 years. Once a Wisconsin family Homestead, it eventually had to be sold for financial reasons. Now a restaurant, the basic shape of the original house has been preserved. Photos in the restaurant show the original owners, and the house over the years. An early rendering of the house, provided by the ELPuerzer achieve.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Aerial view
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger version.
  
  Only in the aerial image above can one really see that the structure today does contain an octagon house.
  
  Source: Dale Travis, and Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: March, 2002
  Updated: September, 2002
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: April, 2009.
  Updated: July, 2010
• Sharon. Octagon house. Built in 1855. Two story. Porch on three sides, with the third side running down the length of an extension on the house.In 2007 the current owner is in the process of doing significant renovations to the house, a process requiring a great deal of work, and sometimes, money.
  
  Left click on the image below for a larger version.
  
  
  
  The above photograph is undated.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger version.
  
  Photograph showing the length of the third side of the porch.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  The image above shows the hows after a stunning renovation by the owner. The outside colors are suggestive of what was availabe when the house was built in 1855.

  
  
  Sources: Dale Travis. Ryan, the current owner, supplied the additional photograph.
  Entered: June, 2002
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: November, 2007.
  Updated: March, 2009.
  Updated: April, 2009.
• Whitewater. Octagon house. Built in 1855. Located at 127 Newcomb Street. Single story.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  

  Photograph

  
  
  Sources: Dale Travis.Ron Buege. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: July, 2002
  Updated: April, 2006
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: April, 2011

Waukesha County

• Merton. Octagon house. Built in 1860. Located at 6985 Main Street. Single story.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  Photograph.
  
  Source: Dale Travis.
  Entered: March, 2002
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: April, 2010
• Pewaukee. Deacon West octagon House. Built in 1854. Two story. Located at 370 High Street.
  
  Photograph.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Entered: June, 2000.
  Updated: March, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2006.
  Updated: January, 2007.
  Updated: April, 2010
• Waukesha. Octagon house. Now gone. Unusual architecture. At least three octagon structures in one house. Three story. The third story is elaborate, and appears to be Mansard architecture.
  A photograph of the house, provided by the ELPuerzer achieve.
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2002

Waupaca County.

• New London. Octagon House. Built about 1869. Located at 420 North Shawno. Wood, one story. Severely modified. New owned and operated by the New London Historical Society.
  
  An early photograph of the house, provided by the ELPuerzer achieve.
  
  Photograph.
  
  Larger version.
  
  and another brief article, photo, Dale Travis, and Ellen Puerzer.
  Updated: September, 2002.
  Updated: January, 2007.

Winnebago County.

• Neenah. Hiram Smith octagon House. Built around 1856, based on a floor plan by Edward Smith, who, with his brother Hiram, had moved to Neenah from Otsego County, New York. The house is in the process of being restored to its original condition.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  

  The house has been enlarged on three different occasions. The photograph at the left, in the photographs below (two men near a fench), taken in the 1870s. A portion of the porch had been enclosed.

  The middle photograph above is from a stereoview. The date is not known.

  The right hand photograph, taken in perhaps in the 1940s, shown a lower cupola, and the stylish filial atop the roof is gone. The railing above the cornice is gone, as is the railing along the roof line. It also appears that the porch has been replaced. The fence along the street is gone.

  
  
  Shown below are some contemporary photographs:
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Shown below are some contemporary photographs:
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The photograph at the left, above, shows the study, which is off the parlor. In the middle is the parlor, and at the right is the front hall and entrance.
  
  

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  The image above shows a floor plan of the first floor.
  
  Photographs and location.
  
  Sources: Jack Speech, with the Neenah Historical Society. Dale Travis and Terry Gunderson provide the photographs. http://neenahhistoriclsociety.org open X Sunday of the month between June and October. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: December, 2001.
  Updated: August, 2005.
  Updated: January, 2007
  Updated: June, 2009
• Omro. Octagon House. Built in the 1860s. Located at 3880 East Second Street. Two story. Just how the second story came to be flattened in the back is not known.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  The top row, right, and second row, left, photographs are circa 1970. The rest were taken in 2010, showing the house to be in very good condition.
  
  Sources: R. Kline. Ron Buege.Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: September, 2002.
  Updated: March, 2006.
  Updated: March, 2009.
  Updated: October, 2010
• Oshkosh. Octagon House. Built in 1916. Located at 557 Pleasant Street. Two story. Now a duplex.
  
  A 1978 Photograph 1 of the house, provided by the ELPuerzer archive.
  
  Photograph 2
  
  Photograph 3
  
  Photograph 4
  
  Photograph 5
  
  Photograph 6
  
  Photograph 7
  
  Sources: John Archibald, Dale Travis, Ellen Puerzer, Ron Buege.
  Entered: February, 2002.
  Updated: March, 2002.
  Updated: September, 2002.
  Updated: April, 2006.