Loren Andrus Octagon House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Washington Octagon House
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 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
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| Location | Washington, Michigan |
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| Built | 1860 |
| Architect | David Stewart |
| Architectural style | Octagon Mode |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000413 |
| Added to NRHP | September 3, 1971 |
The Loren Andrus Octagon House is a special historic building. It's also known as the Washington Octagon House. You can find it in Washington Township, Macomb County, Michigan. This unique octagon house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 3, 1971. This means it's an important historical site.
Contents
A Look Back: The House's Story
Loren Andrus and His Vision
Loren Andrus was born in New York in 1816. When he was 12, his family moved to Washington Township in 1828. At age 21, Loren became an assistant engineer. He helped survey the Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal.
Loren married Lucina Davis. In 1849, they started a farm on a big piece of land. This is where the Octagon House stands today.
Building a Unique Home
In the late 1850s, many important people in the area wanted to build impressive homes. Loren Andrus decided he wanted a special house too. In 1858, he hired his brother-in-law, David Stewart. David was a local architect and carpenter.
They used a book called A Home For All by Orson Squire Fowler as a guide. This book suggested building octagon-shaped homes. They finished building the house in 1860.
A Community Hub
Loren Andrus was very active in local groups. His octagon house became a social center for the community. People would gather there for events and meetings.
The house also played a secret role. It was used as a "station" on the Underground railway. This was a network of safe places for enslaved people seeking freedom.
In 1890, Lucina Davis Andrus passed away. Loren Andrus sold the house in 1894 and moved to Detroit.
New Owners and New Uses
After Loren Andrus left, the house had many different owners. For a short time in the late 1930s, it was even used as a restaurant!
In 1945, the Detroit Board of Education started a farm on the property. It was called the Albert H. Schmidt Foundation Farm. High school and college students learned about farming there. The Octagon House became a dormitory for these students. Wayne State University helped run the farm.
The house was almost torn down! But William and Phyllis Hamilton bought it. They worked hard to restore it. They turned it into a living museum. Three generations of their family lived and worked there. Later, the house was sold again and became a single-family home.
The House Today
Today, the Friends of the Loren Andrus Octagon House, Inc. owns the house. They bought it in 1987. In the 1990s and early 2000s, most of the land around the house was sold. It was turned into homes and a shopping center. This happened because of a town plan in 1993.
What Does It Look Like?
The Loren Andrus Octagon House is a two-story building. It has eight sides and is made of brick. The roof has fancy Italianate decorations. On top, there's a small eight-sided tower called a cupola.
A large porch wraps around seven of the eight sides. It has wooden columns that look like ancient Greek designs. On the eighth side, there's a brick kitchen wing. It has a low, sloped roof. The house has windows that can slide up and down. They have shaped wooden tops.
Inside the Octagon House
Inside, each floor of the octagon house has four rooms. In the very center of the house, there's a beautiful spiral staircase. It goes all the way up from the main floor to the cupola.
Small triangle-shaped hallways lead from the staircase to each room. The ceilings throughout the house are very tall, about twelve feet high.
