David Garland Rose House - Valparaiso, IN 1860
Posted by: 
paul.nord
N 41° 27.974 W 087° 03.100
16T E 495685 N 4590516
A Duplex octagon house.
Waymark Code: WM4NBW
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 09/10/2008
Views: 30
The David Garland Rose House was constructed about 1860 for a Valparaiso businessman. The frame house exhibits Gothic Revival style vergeboard and decorative wood panels in each gable. Recent renovations have included the addition of covered porches extending from three of the sides. Much of the decorative wood work has been removed.
The octagon house rose to popularity with the publication in 1849 of Orson Squire Fowler's book A Home For All. Fowler hoped that the form would provide affordable and comfortable housing for the working classes. He advocated the use of concrete for the house's construction citing its permanence and relative low cost. However, most of the surviving examples of the octagon house are either of wood or brick construction.
The "octagon craze" lasted only a short time with most examples pre-dating the Civil War. Despite Fowler's assertion that the shape was more spacious and cost effective, the awkwardness of the floorplan discouraged many builders. Today, fewer than 120 octagon houses survive nationwide
There are fewer than ten known examples of the octagon house in Indiana.
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