Octagon Hall

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Coordinates: 36°48′25″N 86°33′25″W / 36.80694°N 86.55694°W / 36.80694; -86.55694 (Octagon Hall)
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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]

In popular culture[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.
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