Octagon houses are eight-sided houses that were popular in the United States and Canada mostly in the 1850s. They are characterized by an octagonal (eight-sided) plan and often feature a flat roof and a veranda that circles the house. Their unusual shape and appearance, quite different from the ornate pitched-roof houses typical of the period, can generally be traced to the influence of amateur architect and lifestyle pundit Orson Squire Fowler. Although there are other octagonal structures worldwide, the term octagon house usually refers to octagonal houses built in North America during this period, and up to the early 1900s.
The Lewis Round Barn is located in Mendon, Illinois, in northwestern Adams County. It is one of 14 round barns recognized by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. The barn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 29, 2003.
The Ogle County Courthouse is a National Register of Historic Places listing in the Ogle County, Illinois, county seat of Oregon. The building stands on a public square in the city's downtown commercial district. The current structure was completed in 1891 and was preceded by two other buildings, one of which was destroyed by a group of outlaws. Following the destruction of the courthouse, the county was without a judicial building for a period during the 1840s. The Ogle County Courthouse was designed by Chicago architect George O. Garnsey in the Romanesque Revival style of architecture. The ridged roof is dominated by its wooden cupola which stands out at a distance.
A round barn is a historic barn design that could be octagonal, polygonal, or circular in plan. Though round barns were not as popular as some other barn designs, their unique shape makes them noticeable. The years from 1880 to 1920 represent the height of round barn construction. Round barn construction in the United States can be divided into two overlapping eras. The first, the octagonal era, spanned from 1850 to 1900. The second, the true circular era, spanned from 1889 to 1936. The overlap meant that round barns of both types, polygonal and circular, were built during the latter part of the nineteenth century. Numerous round barns in the United States are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The University of Illinois Experimental Dairy Farm Historic District, also known as South Farm, is a designated historic district in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located on the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois. The district consists of eight contributing structures and several non-contributing structures. The district was designated in 1994 when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Multiple Property Submission concerning Round Barns in Illinois. Three of the district's buildings are early 20th century round barns constructed between 1908 and 1912. The district covers a total area of 6 acres (2 ha).
The three University of Illinois round barns played a special role in the promotion and popularity of the American round barn. They are located in Urbana Township, on the border of the U.S. city of Urbana, Illinois and on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The University of Illinois was home to one of the Agricultural Experiment Stations, located at U.S. universities, which were at the heart of the promotion of the round barn. At least one round barn in Illinois was built specifically after its owner viewed the barns at the university. Though originally an experiment the three barns helped to lead the way for round barn construction throughout the Midwest, particularly in Illinois. The barns were listed as contributing properties to the U of I Experimental Dairy Farm Historic District, which was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
The James Bruce Round Barn is a round barn located near the Stephenson County, Illinois city of Freeport, United States. The barn was constructed in 1914 by the team of Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas Brothers, who were responsible for at least a dozen round barns in the area. The barn features a single hip roof design which was probably influenced by the Agricultural Experiment Stations at the University of Illinois and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The Bruce Round Barn was the last known round barn designed by the Shaffer–Haas team. The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as part of a multiple property submission in 1984.
The Dennis Otte Round Barn is a round barn in the U.S. state of Illinois near the unincorporated Stephenson County community of Eleroy. The barn was built in 1930 by Herman Altenbern and has a diameter of 54 feet. The barn is representative of the last round barn design variations that evolved. The Otte Round Barn was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Charles Fehr Round Barn is a round barn in the U.S. state of Illinois near the Stephenson County village of Orangeville. The barn was built in 1912 by the team of Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas Brothers about one half mile from the Illinois–Wisconsin state border. The building is the first round barn in the Stephenson County area, home to 31 round barns, with a hip roof. The building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Secrest Octagon Barn is a historic building located near Downey in rural Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It was constructed in 1883 by master builder George Frank Longerbean for Joshua Hunt Secrest as a hay barn-horse stable. The octagonal barn measures 80 feet (24 m) in diameter. It features red vertical siding and a sectional bell shaped roof that is supported by hand-laminated beams. The octagon-shaped cupola has the same roof shape as the barn. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Pereira Octagon Barn of San Luis Obispo is a historic structure located on the southern outskirts of San Luis Obispo, California. It was built in 1906 by Henri LaFranchi, a young Italian-Swiss immigrant and the owner of a small meat market, John Damaso, an Azorean immigrant and a carpenter by trade, and a third, unknown man identified only as a “milk farmer.” Since there were no other octagonal barns in the area, the builders may have worked from patterns of octagonal construction in farm journals or catalogs.
Fire Barn 5 or Fire Station 5 is a historic building in Elgin, Illinois. It was the fifth official fire barn in Elgin, originally housing horses and a fire fighting carriage. Over the years, the carriage was replaced by automobiles. The building is an example of Classical Revival architecture and operated as a fire station until 1991, the year it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It now functions as the Elgin Fire Barn No. 5 Museum, a museum of firefighting history.
The Nebergall "Knoll Crest" Round Barn is located between Davenport and Blue Grass in rural Scott County, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1914, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986.
The Strauther Pleak Round Barn, also known as the "Pleak-Morgan Barn", is a round barn near Greensburg, Indiana, United States in Washington Township. Built in 1914, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. The barn is part of farmstead with a circa 1940 Indiana limestone ranch house, smoke house, spring house and garage. The main drive is looped enclosing a pen with a chicken coop and smaller barn.
The Bert Leedy Round Barn, also known as Paxton Round Barn and as Fulton County Historical Society Round Barn, is a round barn located in Richland Township near Rochester, Indiana, United States. Built in 1924, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. The listing was consistent with terms of a National Park Service "Multiple Property Documentation" study on "Round and Polygonal Barns of Indiana" that was prepared in 1991. The Round Barn was moved to its current site, an open-air museum, in 1989 after it was struck by a tornado.
The John Haimbaugh Round Barn in Newcastle Township near Rochester, Indiana, United States, is a round barn that was built in 1914. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
The Ojo Caliente Hot Springs Round Barn is in Ojo Caliente, New Mexico and was built in 1924. It is the only adobe round barn in the United States.
The Louden Machinery Company was an American engineering, manufacturing and design company based in Fairfield, Iowa. Founded by William Louden, the company in its early years manufactured and sold the patented hay carrier that he invented in 1867. The company later expanded into a wide variety of farm equipment and, in 1906, began an Architecture Department that reportedly designed more than 25,000 barns from 1906 to 1939. During World War I, Louden's monorail equipment carrier began to be applied to industrial and military applications. By the 1920s, much of the company's revenues were derived from industrial applications of its monorail equipment carriers.
Riverside is a historic estate at 30 Lily Pond Road in Lyndon, Vermont. Built in 1866 for the owner of a local lumber mill, it is a well-preserved example of Italianate architecture, including significant elements on the main house and the surviving outbuildings. The estate, now home to a private elementary day school, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
The Muscatine County Home Dairy Barn, also known as the Old Barn, is a historic building on the west side of Muscatine, Iowa, United States. The barn was built in 90 days on the county home property in 1926. It replaced other barns that had been struck by lightning and were destroyed by the resulting fire. The home was an early form of welfare system known as the poor farm. It housed indigent, homeless, or disabled people who in turn worked on the farm to cover their costs of care and food. The barn was nearly torn down in 2006 when a group of volunteers called the Friends of the Old Barn acquired and restored it. It was also in danger of being torn down in 2017 because of its lack of utilities when a nearby building which provided them to the barn was slated to be torn down. The barn is now a museum located near the Muscatine Arboretum and the Muscatine County Environmental Learning Center. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.
