Notable
octagon houses in the U.S. include the following, more than 80 in number, in date built order. The octagonal outlines of these houses may be seen in Google maps and other satellite photo services, by zooming in from satellite view above, to their locations. Specifically, almost all of the following listed ones are mapped and may be observed via satellite view in the Google external link here (click on "Map of all coordinates" to the right). Of these, six are further designated
National Historic Landmarks of the United States:
Armour-Stiner House in the Hudson River valley in New York, which is perhaps the only domed octagon house in the world;
The Octagon House in Washington, D.C. (which is actually more of a hexagon), where President Madison lived after the White House was burnt by the British; Thomas Jefferson's retreat
Poplar Forest;
May's Folly in Georgia; Samuel Sloan-designed
Longwood in Natchez, Mississippi, still unfinished after its construction was halted by the American Civil War; and
Waverley, also in Mississippi. At least one of the houses has been claimed to have been used as "stations" sheltering escaped slaves on the
Underground Railroad: the
Octagon House in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, although that claim has been disputed. Including post-Civil War constructed houses, there are now at least 84 octagon houses that are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. Octagon houses were particularly popular in New York State. There were 120 octagon houses in New York State, of which 13 are listed on the National Register and listed below. In 1958 Carl F. Schmidt published
The Octagon Fad which attempted to inventory the Fowler-inspired homes, most of which were built prior to 1915 in North America. However, only a small fraction of the total are notable and extant. New Jersey is believed to have had 46 octagon houses and octagon school houses, with 15 houses and one schoolhouse surviving in 2016.
Notable former octagon houses ==See also==