Jump to content

Octagon Hall

Add links
Coordinates: 36°48′25″N 86°33′25″W / 36.80694°N 86.55694°W / 36.80694; -86.55694 (Octagon Hall)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Octagon Hall
Octagon Hall is located in Kentucky
Octagon Hall
Octagon Hall is located in the United States
Octagon Hall
Nearest cityFranklin, Kentucky
Coordinates36°48′25″N 86°33′25″W / 36.80694°N 86.55694°W / 36.80694; -86.55694 (Octagon Hall)
Area1.8 acres (0.73 ha)
Built1862
NRHP reference No.80001667[1]
Added to NRHPApril 10, 1980

Octagon Hall is an eight-sided house in Simpson County, Kentucky near Franklin, Kentucky completed around 1860.[2] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1] It has also been known as the Andrew Jackson Caldwell House after the man who built the house. There is a second contributing building on the property, a detached summer kitchen.[3]

Octagon Hall is located northeast of Franklin, Kentucky on U.S. Route 31W.

Architecture

[edit]

It is a red brick, two-story octagonal house with a high basement. The octagonal plan was likely inspired by Orson Squire Fowler's 1848 book, The Octagon House: A Home for All, which developed a trend in American architecture starting in the 1850s.[4] It is one of two surviving octagonal structures in Kentucky.[3]

The three front facades have brick laid in Flemish bond, while brickwork is common bond elsewhere.[5]

History

[edit]

In 1847, Andrew Jackson Caldwell laid out the foundation for a distinctive new family home. By 1860, Caldwell was living there with his wife Harriet Morton Caldwell, daughters Frances, Mary, and Martha, and son Henry.[2]

During the Civil War, Octagon Hall served as a hospital for both Confederate and Union soldiers. It also doubled as a hideout for Confederate troops on the run from the Union army.[citation needed]

Harriet Caldwell lived in the house after her husband's death in 1866.[6] After 1916, the property was sold to Miles Williams, a Nashville doctor.[2]

In 2001, the property was purchased by the Octagon Hall Foundation.[7] Director Billy D. Byrd has operated the site as a non-profit museum and local attraction,[8] highlighting the paranormal experiences he has reported there.[9][10][11] Currently, it is the site of the Octagon Hall Museum & Kentucky Confederate Studies Archive. It includes a library, a display of Civil War artifacts, Native American artifacts, and genealogical and historical research material. A slave cemetery and historic gardens are on the grounds.[12]

[edit]

Octagon Hall has been promoted and popularized as a haunted place.[9][13][14] Octagon Hall has been featured on A&E, Syfy, History Channel, Discovery Channel, and many others. It was featured on Haunted Live on the Travel Channel in 2018.[15]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Talbott, Tim. "Octagon Hall". ExploreKYHistory. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  3. ^ a b pls4e (2018-07-17). "Octagon Hall". SAH ARCHIPEDIA. Retrieved 2021-10-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Fowler, Orson Squire (2015-10-08). The Octagon House: A Home for All. Echo Point Books and Media. ISBN 978-1-62654-266-2.
  5. ^ Jayne C. Henderson (November 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Octagon Hall / Andrew Jackson Caldwell House". National Park Service. Retrieved March 26, 2019. With accompanying seven photos from 1979
  6. ^ Lancaster, Clay (2014-07-15). Antebellum Architecture of Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-6168-6.
  7. ^ jstory@bgdailynews.com 783-3256, JUSTIN STORY The Daily News. "Paranormal group investigates Civil War home". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved 2021-10-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "OCTAGON HALL FOUNDATION, LTD. :: Kentucky (US) :: OpenCorporates". opencorporates.com. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  9. ^ a b Mason, Kim. "Octagon Hall offers celebrity ghost hunts". The Amplifier. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  10. ^ PURAZRANG, MEGAN. "Historic Octagon Hall still holds many mysteries". Franklin Favorite. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  11. ^ "Eerie From All Eight Sides". Bowling Green Living. 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  12. ^ "Octagon Hall Civil War Museum".
  13. ^ "Home". octagonhallmuseum.com.
  14. ^ ""WLGH" Octagon Hall World's Largest Ghost Hunt - Information". Ticketor. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  15. ^ Goth, Mitch. "Octagon Hall Museum". Haunted US. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Octagon_Hall&oldid=1218829010"