David Garland Rose House
Encyclopedia
The David Garland Rose House was built circa 1860 in Valparaiso, Indiana
Valparaiso, Indiana
Valparaiso is a city in and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 31,730 at the 2010 census, making it the 2nd largest city in Porter County.-History:...

, USA. David Rose was a local businessman. This Gothic Revival house is unusual in that it is eight-sided, an octagon. Each of the eight gables include decorated wood panels. Covered porches have been added to three sides.

The octagon house
Octagon house
Octagon houses were a unique house style briefly popular in the 1850s in the United States and Canada. They are characterised by an octagonal plan, and often feature a flat roof and a veranda all round...

 rose in popularity in 1849 with the publication of Orson Squire Fowler
Orson Squire Fowler
Orson Squire Fowler was a phrenologist who popularized the octagon house in the middle of the nineteenth century....

's book A Home For All. The idea was to develop affordable and comfortable housing for the working class. Fowler proposed the use of concrete due to its long life and low cost. Most octagon houses are of wood or brick construction. The "octagon craze" was short-lived and pre-dates the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Fewer than 120 octagon houses survive.

David Rose

David Rose was a successful business man in Valparaiso. At the start of the American Civil War, he was appointed as Colonel Rose, Commandant of the 54th Indiana Volunteer Infantry at Camp Morton
Camp Morton
Camp Morton was a Union prisoner-of-war camp located in Indianapolis, Indiana during the American Civil War. It was named for Indiana governor Oliver Morton, who was the governor of Indiana during the War. It lasted from 1861-1865...

, Indiana.

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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