Octagon House (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin)
Encyclopedia
The Octagon House is an historic octagon house
located at 276 Linden Street in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
, USA
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1972. The house was featured as the second-most haunted house in Wisconsin on the History Channel show "Hidden Passages".
This house is currently for sale.
. Brown gave the house to his son Edwin A. Brown as a wedding present. Brown and his wife Ruth Edward (Pier) Brown had three children in the house. The house became a rental unit in 1900, and it remained a rental until the late 1960s to early 1970s.
Room for a new high school threatened the house. Despite the house being placed on the national register of historic places in 1972, no buyers were interested in the house and it was days away from demolition. Local dressmaker and antiques dealer Marlene Hansen placed a bid on the house and she became the owner of the house. She bought the house without viewing the interior. Hansen and her family restored the house. The house was turned into a historic and spooky touring house. The Southern Wisconsin Paranormal Research Group studied the house in 2005 and found paranormal activities in the house. "I can't tell what others have seen, felt, or experienced, but I can tell that they do experience something," Hansen said. "Their body language changes and I can see it in their faces." Her grandson 13-year-old Mike Hanson gives tours. He says that visitors have reported hearing sounds including small children laughing and playing, and feeling cold hands touching them. Some people believe that the children are Edwin Brown's children.
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...
located at 276 Linden Street in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Fond du Lac is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The name is French for bottom of the lake, for it is located at the bottom of Lake Winnebago. The population was 42,203 at the 2000 census...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1972. The house was featured as the second-most haunted house in Wisconsin on the History Channel show "Hidden Passages".
This house is currently for sale.
History
Isaac Brown, a carpenter and trader with Native Americans, reportedly grew fearful of attacks from them in 1856, so he built an Orson Fowler-designed eight-sided house which was designed for hiding. It contained nine secret passageways and spaces. A tunnel was built between the house and a woodshed which was used as a safe house on the Underground RailwayUnderground railway
Underground railway may refer to:*The Underground Railroad, a network of clandestine routes by which African slaves in the 19th century United States attempted to escape*Rapid transit, urban railways that sometimes use tunnels...
. Brown gave the house to his son Edwin A. Brown as a wedding present. Brown and his wife Ruth Edward (Pier) Brown had three children in the house. The house became a rental unit in 1900, and it remained a rental until the late 1960s to early 1970s.
Room for a new high school threatened the house. Despite the house being placed on the national register of historic places in 1972, no buyers were interested in the house and it was days away from demolition. Local dressmaker and antiques dealer Marlene Hansen placed a bid on the house and she became the owner of the house. She bought the house without viewing the interior. Hansen and her family restored the house. The house was turned into a historic and spooky touring house. The Southern Wisconsin Paranormal Research Group studied the house in 2005 and found paranormal activities in the house. "I can't tell what others have seen, felt, or experienced, but I can tell that they do experience something," Hansen said. "Their body language changes and I can see it in their faces." Her grandson 13-year-old Mike Hanson gives tours. He says that visitors have reported hearing sounds including small children laughing and playing, and feeling cold hands touching them. Some people believe that the children are Edwin Brown's children.