Half the time I wonder where I came I up the things that ended up on my bucket list. Take the Octagon House for instance. There are many Octagon Houses in the US – which one did I mean and why on earth would I have wanted to see an oddly shaped house. However, once I determined which Octagon House I must have meant and read about it, I wanted to see it as soon as possible.
The Octagon House is in Watertown and while it’s not THAT far away (90 minutes), it seems a bit far to drive just for a house. I had several opportunities to see it the last few years but something always deterred those plans. I insisted that we stop on the way back from vacation. The problem was we had to be there by 2 to get the last tour. We barely made it thanks to construction.
I have to admit whoever came up with the concept of octagonal and hexagonal houses in the 1800s was a genius. John Richards built the octagon house in Waterford for his family in 1854 and was one of the largest homes in Wisconsin built prior to the Civil War. The home stayed in the Richards family until 1938 when it was donated to the Watertown Historical Society.
On the guided tour, unlike any of the other guided house tours this vacation, we were able to see all the rooms on all 5 floors – 2 floors for the family, a basement with the kitchen in it, a floor for the help, and the copula at the very top of the house. In the center of the house, were central heating, running water, and ventilating systems which were very modern and ingenious at the time. This system allowed for hot water for the tub and sink on the second floor. I would say it’s an engineering marvel.
After seeing the house, we had the opportunity to see the first Kindergarten in the US and a barn as well.
The Octagon House is worth the drive. If you are ever in the area, I would highly recommend stopping to check it out. It is only open seasonally though because it does not have any modern conveniences like heat.
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