Octagon Houses

Rebecca Lawin McCarley has been researching octagon houses since 1999.  Simply, an octagon house is a house built in the shape of an octagon.  In 1848, Orson S. Fowler published his book A Home for All, spurring a phase of octagon house construction.  Most of the historic octagon houses were constructed in the 1850s and 1860s, with later examples in the West.  These houses are found throughout the United States, though concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest.

Ms. McCarley has presented portions of her research in several forums, including the national conference of the Vernacular Architecture Forum and annual conferences of the Southeast Chapter of Society of Architectural Historians.  She also has guest lectured in graduate level architectural history courses on the general history and characteristics of the octagon houses.  An article on octagon houses in the Midwest is anticipated to be published in September 2005.

Contact her at octagonhouses if you have specific questions or information about octagon houses.