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The Octagon House



One of the things I remember is visiting the Octagon House around Christmas time. It was always so much fun. Usually you were put into a group and shown around the grounds and sang Christmas Carols. It was always a lot of fun and I thought I'd share a bit of information with you about it.

Because I have very little information, I'm not going to follow the pattern of my homepage and make links for different Octagon House stories, all the informtion I have is below. Enjoy!


The Octagon House, five floors of solid brick construction completed in 1854, was designed and built by John Richards, a pioneer Watertown settler. The house is one of the largest single family residences of the Pre-Civil War period in Wisconsin.

Its construction includes central heating, running water and ventilating systems. In addition to those "modern conveniences," the house features a central spiral staircase which rises from the first floor to the tower room.

Occupied only by Richards' family members, the house was given to the Watertown Historical Society and has been open to the public since 1938.

Other Historical Buildings on the Grounds



The First Kindergarten in the United States was begun in Watertown in 1856 by Margarethe Meyer Schurz, whose husband was the famous German-American statesman Carl Schurz. The building was moved from downtown Watertown to its present location in 1956. Its interior depicts an early class in session.

The Plank Road Barn was originally located along the Watertown-Milwaukee Plank Road a short distance east of the present site. Moved to the grounds in the 1960s, it now houses a collection of pioneer tools and farm implements.

House Open to Visitors Daily from May through October

--Hours--
11:00 - 3:00 Before Memorial Day & after Labor Day
10:00 - 4:00 Memorial Day to Labor Day

--Special Events--
Ice Cream Social with Civil War Band
Christmas Weekends:
Last Weekend in November,
First Weekend in December

Phone (414) 261-2796

Museums Operated by the
Watertown Historical Society
919 Charles Street
Watertown, Wisconsin 53094