Octagon House - Washington Twp, MI - Octagon Buildings on Waymarking.com

Source: http://www.octagonhouse.org/history.html

The Loren Andrus Octagon House was built in 1860. Taking three year to complete and much more money than anticipated. The eight sided house with the beautiful spiral center staircase crowned by the cupola made the Octagon House the gem of the community. Inspired by Orson Squire Fowler's publication "Home for All", Loren Andrus commenced to built the octagon shape home using material from his 353 acre farm.

Built at the beginning of the Civil War the house is said to have been on the route of the Underground Railroad leading to Canada. With documented sites in the immediate area it is only logical that a house, a center for activity in the community, could easily harbor slaves without the knowledge of the rest of the community.

Loren Andrus lived in the house until 1894 when he moved to Detroit to live with one of his eight children. The house turned over many times, including a renovation in 1938 by Paul Weyer, who dreamed of turning the home into an inn. Mr. Weyer opened the Inn in 1939. Unfortunately he died soon after opening and the Octagon House was again sold. Again the house turned over several times and then in 1945 Wayne University (now Wayne State University), through a foundation donation was transformed into Albert H. Schmidt Foundation Farm. The farm closed in 1962.

The property was sold and in 1971 despite being abandoned and in disrepair the house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1972 conditions not improved, the house was added to Michigan State List of Historic Places.

Over the next three decades the house was condemned, turned into a living museum, rescued from destruction and brought back to life by Save the Octagon House, Inc. later re-named Friends of the Octagon House, Inc (FOTOH) a non-profit museum.

Relevant Web Site: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Give the date of your visit, a brief description of your experience, and post at least ONE ORIGINAL photo, if possible. Add any additional history or information that you may have about this building.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   04/08/2022 bobfrapples8 visited it 06/18/2019 mondou2 visited it 10/22/2015 ohmom50 visited it 03/22/2014 K8tee visited it 02/23/2013 Vante & Sammy Pants visited it 09/05/2011 scrapcat visited it 03/23/2010 The D Zone visited it 02/06/2010 gvsu4msu visited it 12/12/2009 Ramblin' Rumble visited it 11/28/2009 Strange Brews visited it 10/28/2009 BAPMAN CREW visited it 07/05/2006 Daffy74 visited it

View all visits/logs