Mar 21, 1979
Octagon House (Hawley House) - National Register of Historic Places
Statement of Significance: The design of the Octagon House represents the synthesis of two important events in American architectural history. In 1850, Andrew Jackson Downing published The Architecture of Country Houses, a book giving detailed drawings and plans for "simple country cottages”.! In fact, Downing's houses were far from simple, making full use of the mid-nineteenth century carpenter 's skill in cutting attenuated decorative members, bargeboards, screens, and moldings. The richly shaped and scrolled detailing of the Octagon House reflects the influence of Downing's writings. The second event also was a publication: Orson S. Fowler's 1853 The Octagon House, A Horne for All. Fowler, a writer on such diverse topics as temperance, phrenology, and the abolition of slavery, championed the advantages of octagonal homes over conventional frame structures. The octagonal plan, Fowler believed, was "cheap, convenient, and superior" and his book supplied numerous drawings and detailed plans to let the carpenter or handyman prove these assertions himself. While there is no proof that Mr. Brown (some newspaper sources give the first name Joseph, but there is no verification) was acquainted with either Downing or Fowler, it seems unlikely that neither book made an impression on him. Coming from New England sometime near 1860, Brown most certainly saw homes patterned after Downing 's cottages end route to the Middle West. His decision to build his house octagonally may have been inspired by Fowler 's eloquence. At least one other notable Illinois structure, the Charter Oak School in Sparta, derives its octagonal shape from A Horne for All. But perhaps, as the Octagon House's current owner has suggested, Brown 's reasons were simpler. Mrs. Hawley has said that Mr. Brown 's answer, delivered, one assumes, with typical New England asperity, to neighbors enquiring as to the strange shape of the house was "I'm building mine round because everyone else's is square. The architectural significance of the house remains intact and unique. The decorative scrollwork has not been harmed either by time or the additions to the house. The visibility of the oct agonal plan has fared equally well. The house's exterior, from the architectural significance of the house remains intact and unique. The decorative scrollwork has not been harmed either by time or the additions to the house. The visibility of the oct agonal plan has fared equally well. The house's exterior, from all sides except the southernmost still appears to be a regular octagon. Ultimately, the uniqueness of the Octagon House is the most important factor in its nomination. There are only a handful of octagonal buildings remaining in the Midwest, and of those, very few are in as good shape as the Octagon House. As a uniquely shaped representative of a period of American building when craftsmen-built buildings without architects, calling on previous work and pattern-books instead, and as an example of the type of woodwork nearly impossible to find in structures build after 1900, the Octagon House is unsurpassed.
Octagon House (Hawley House) - National Register of Historic Places
Statement of Significance: The design of the Octagon House represents the synthesis of two important events in American architectural history. In 1850, Andrew Jackson Downing published The Architecture of Country Houses, a book giving detailed drawings and plans for "simple country cottages”.! In fact, Downing's houses were far from simple, making full use of the mid-nineteenth century carpenter 's skill in cutting attenuated decorative members, bargeboards, screens, and moldings. The richly shaped and scrolled detailing of the Octagon House reflects the influence of Downing's writings. The second event also was a publication: Orson S. Fowler's 1853 The Octagon House, A Horne for All. Fowler, a writer on such diverse topics as temperance, phrenology, and the abolition of slavery, championed the advantages of octagonal homes over conventional frame structures. The octagonal plan, Fowler believed, was "cheap, convenient, and superior" and his book supplied numerous drawings and detailed plans to let the carpenter or handyman prove these assertions himself. While there is no proof that Mr. Brown (some newspaper sources give the first name Joseph, but there is no verification) was acquainted with either Downing or Fowler, it seems unlikely that neither book made an impression on him. Coming from New England sometime near 1860, Brown most certainly saw homes patterned after Downing 's cottages end route to the Middle West. His decision to build his house octagonally may have been inspired by Fowler 's eloquence. At least one other notable Illinois structure, the Charter Oak School in Sparta, derives its octagonal shape from A Horne for All. But perhaps, as the Octagon House's current owner has suggested, Brown 's reasons were simpler. Mrs. Hawley has said that Mr. Brown 's answer, delivered, one assumes, with typical New England asperity, to neighbors enquiring as to the strange shape of the house was "I'm building mine round because everyone else's is square. The architectural significance of the house remains intact and unique. The decorative scrollwork has not been harmed either by time or the additions to the house. The visibility of the oct agonal plan has fared equally well. The house's exterior, from the architectural significance of the house remains intact and unique. The decorative scrollwork has not been harmed either by time or the additions to the house. The visibility of the oct agonal plan has fared equally well. The house's exterior, from all sides except the southernmost still appears to be a regular octagon. Ultimately, the uniqueness of the Octagon House is the most important factor in its nomination. There are only a handful of octagonal buildings remaining in the Midwest, and of those, very few are in as good shape as the Octagon House. As a uniquely shaped representative of a period of American building when craftsmen-built buildings without architects, calling on previous work and pattern-books instead, and as an example of the type of woodwork nearly impossible to find in structures build after 1900, the Octagon House is unsurpassed.
Mar 21, 1979
Posted Date
Apr 05, 2022
Historical Record Date
Mar 21, 1979
Source Name
United States Department of Interior - National Park Service
