Octagon Hall
Octagon Hall | |
| File:Octagon Hall Simpson Co. KY.jpg | |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 411: Malformed coordinates value. | |
| Nearest city | Franklin, Kentucky |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Area | 1.8 acres (0.73 ha) |
| Built | 1862 |
| NRHP reference No. | 80001667[1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 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 | edit source]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 | edit source]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 | edit source]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 | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). With accompanying seven photos from 1979
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
