Sunday, April 10, 2011

The Octagon House Inventory


About the Book

A permanent record of all known 19th century octagon houses built (including Laceyville). While the exact number of octagon houses built in the United States during the 19th century isn’t known, most sources indicate several thousand were constructed. The historical significance of these houses is evident when one considers that the majority were built before the Civil War.

This 310 page book has the history and locations of over 900 octagon homes (including hexagon and roundhouses). It is supplemented with illustrations of vintage postcards, historic photos and contemporary views of the homes, some never before published. The book includes schoolhouses and other 19th Century octagonal buildings of merit. In addition to nearly 130 images, the book contains information culled from the Inventory Web site, old newspapers and 30 years of collected archives.

About the Author

Ellen L. Puerzer historian and writer, has been researching octagon houses since 1976 and compiled information on midwest octagon houses for Carl F. Schmidt’s 1978 book More About Octagons. With Robert Kline, she maintains the online Octagon House Inventory. She is putting the finishing touches on a book about Milwaukee 19th century architect Edward Townsend Mix to be published in late 2011. Ellen lives with her husband in a 1908 house they restored in the midwest.

Click here to order and for more information.


1 comment:

GibsonGirl said...

Hi Dana

Thanks for posting this. Im happy that several libraries have already purchased a copy of the book.

Since it went to the printer in January, Ive located 9 more octagon houses built in the 19th century. All gone now unfortunately. But the challenge is to find photos of them so they still exist in memory.
I'm sure there are many more to located too.

Ellen