Octagon House (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin)

Octagon House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	276 Linden St., Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, USA[2]
Coordinates:	43°46′16″N 88°26′54″W / 43.77111°N 88.44833°W / 43.77111; -88.44833Coordinates: 43°46′16″N 88°26′54″W / 43.77111°N 88.44833°W / 43.77111; -88.44833
Built:	1856
Architectural style:	Octagon Mode
Governing body:	State
NRHP Reference#:	72000051[1]
Added to NRHP:	November 03, 1972

The Octagon House is an historic octagon house located at 276 Linden Street in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, USA. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.^[1] The house was featured as the second-most haunted house in Wisconsin on the History Channel show "Hidden Passages".^[2]

This house is currently for sale. ^[3]

History

Isaac Brown, a carpenter and trader with Native Americans, reportedly grew fearful of attacks from them in 1856, so he built an Orson Fowler-designed eight-sided house which was designed for hiding. It contained nine secret passageways and spaces.^[2] A tunnel was built between the house and a woodshed which was used as a safe house on the Underground Railway.^[2][4] Brown gave the house to his son Edwin A. Brown as a wedding present. Brown and his wife Ruth Edward (Pier) Brown had three children in the house. The house became a rental unit in 1900, and it remained a rental until the late 1960s to early 1970s.^[2]

Room for a new high school threatened the house. Despite the house being placed on the national register of historic places in 1972, no buyers were interested in the house and it was days away from demolition. Local dressmaker and antiques dealer Marlene Hansen placed a bid on the house and she became the owner of the house. She bought the house without viewing the interior. Hansen and her family restored the house. The house was turned into a historic and spooky touring house. The Southern Wisconsin Paranormal Research Group studied the house in 2005 and found paranormal activities in the house. "I can't tell what others have seen, felt, or experienced, but I can tell that they do experience something," Hansen said. "Their body language changes and I can see it in their faces."^[2] Her grandson 13-year-old Mike Hanson gives tours. He says that visitors have reported hearing sounds including small children laughing and playing, and feeling cold hands touching them. Some people believe that the children are Edwin Brown's children.^[2]

Features

Features include stucco walls, four dormers, and a central chimney. The home now serves as a museum.^[5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Kleine, Katie (October 26, 2008). "Haunted, historical journey for FDL's Octagon House". Action Sunday. pp. A1. http://www.actionadvertiser.com/feature10_26.html. Retrieved 2010-11-02. 
3. ^ http://realestate.yahoo.com/Wisconsin/Fond_Du_Lac/276-linden-st:b5bae4a681cb7aaecd8a4823fc5e6a9
4. ^ "1856 Octagon House". Marlenesheirlooms.Com. http://www.marlenesheirlooms.com/octagon.html. Retrieved 2008-03-06. 
5. ^ Travis, Dale (March 10, 2008). "Wisconsin Round Barns List". http://www.dalejtravis.com/rblist/rbwi.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-20. 

External links

• Official site
• Kline, Robert V.. "Inventory of Older Octagon, Hexagon, and Round Houses in Wisconsin: Fond du Lac County