KANSAS

Clay County

• West of Clay Center. Octagon house and barn. Built around 1886 by E. E. Kretzmeier. The house is two story, and has an unusual roof arrangement. The former octagon barn is now just a cement foundation. An oft repeated story, the shape of the house was chosen to be more wind resistant than a rectangular house. The owners as of 2009 have replaced three windows with French doors. Concrete pillars now replace the place where the open porch was attached to the house.
  
  House photograph.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  
  
  Sources: Dale Travis. Jerry Freeze. Ellen Puerzer. Alice Ohlde, the owner as of 2009.
  Entered: July, 2002
  Updated: October, 2003
  Updated: June, 2009
  Updated: November, 2012

Edwards County

• Kinsley Octagon house. Built in 1887. located at 411 East 5th Avenue. Two stories. Originally there was a porch on three sides. Four dormers.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  1901 drawing.	1901 photograph.	1901 photograph.

  
  
  The current owner supplies the following information:

  This restored octagon house located in Kinsley Kansas was built by Charles Reitler in 1887 and was referred to as the "Reitler mansion" with a "cosy bathroom and verandah" In August 1890 the cupola on the top of the house was struck by lightning and destroyed part of the attic though the rest of the house sustained no damage, quite remarkable considering fire fighting consisted of horse drawn wagons and a manned pump! In 1901 the prominent Dr. M. DeTar family moved into the "magnificent dwelling house" and embellished it with oak hardwood floors and attractive landscape. Dr. DeTar's daughter, Lucile described the house to the current owners as "being a happy house with many good vibrations" Many people owned the house since, until 1983 when the house was purchased by Brian and Lisa Sparke in a very bad state and was quickly dubbed "the DeTar house" it has been lovingly restored by the owners and craftsman/carpenter L.Milton Smith and Paul Cornelius. Reconstruction of the verandah is still being considered. There are many wonderful (and a couple of ghost stories ) to be told about the DeTar house, a more complete history and restoration stories are told in a newspaper article written by the "Edwards County Sentinel" September 7th 2000, you may view this article or copy it via the Kinsley Library.
  
  In the images below, the front of the house faces north. One can judge the view of the house using that feature. The last image shows some of the internal flooring.
  
  

  Left click on any image below for a larger version.

  
  
  Source: Lisa Sparke, the current owner.
  Entered: July, 2008
  Updated: August, 2013
  Updated: April, 2015
  Updated: June, 2015

Ellsworth County

• Ellsworth, Octagon house. Built in 1885 by E.P. and Bridget Wheeler. Located at 214 W. 8th St, on the SE corner of where 8th and Grand intersect. Two story. Unusual roof line, with peaks on each of the eight sides of the house.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  		1899
  1920		1885

  
  
  Sources: Ellsworth County Historical Society. Jerry Freeze and Kort Hawks, the current owner, provide the photographs.
  Entered: June, 2001.
  Updated: August, 2003.
  Updated: June, 2007.
  Updated: June, 2015
  Updated: July, 2019

Harper County

• Crystal A town apparently one inside the town of Harper. Octagon school house. Wiped out by a June 3, 1892, tornado.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  June 3, 1892

  
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: March, 2016.

Jefferson County

• Valley Falls, Octagon house. Construction began in 1858. Two story. Large cupola. The house had something like 40 rooms, and each room was richly appointed with black walnut. The corners were made of stone, and the walls were a mixture of concrete and stone.
  
  One senses the house proved too expensive for the builder, Lorans Northrup, and was later converted into a hotel and operated by him. The house eventually burned. Apparently in the late 1800s, although the history below is not clear about this.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  1885	1893
  July 2, 2009	1905

  
  
  Sources: Jerry Freeze. Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: October, 2003.
  Updated: January, 2012
  Updated: February, 2014
  Updated: June, 2015
  Updated: September, 2016
  Updated: January, 2017

Nemaha County

• Seneca Octagon house.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  Tribune Dec 14, 1916

  
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: November, 2018.

Reno County

• Hutchinson Octagon school.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  May 30, 1892

  
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: October, 2012.

Shawnee County

• Topeka Octagon house. Octagon house mentioned in December 2, 1866 newspaper as being purchased by Mrs. M. H. Burtis on 12th and Van Buren Street.  Governor St. John residence when he stayed in the city.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  1886

  
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered: December, 2018.
• Tecumseh villiage. Octagon house. This octagon house was erected between 1857 and 1859 by Edward Hoogland and besides a cupola ,had battlements that inspired the name Octagon Castle. The 2 story structure stood one-half mile west of the old town site of Tecumseh village, in Stinson's addition. Hoogland who heralded from NY died in 1862 and was buried on his property. The 1859 birdseye map shows an octagonal house with porches and an octagonal building (carriage house/barn? behind.) Late in the 1860s Isaac Morris purchased the property and improved it with the addition of a summerhouse, drive, gates and an orchard creating a grand estate. (Another source lists Morris as builder and Hoogland as later owner but this seems doubtful given Morris family still owned it in 1906.)
  
  It remained in the Morris family through his daughter until 1906. A granddaughter remembered it was porches on 5 sides, and a flight of 8-10 steps leading to front door. Morris died in Colton Ca in 1918. After 1906 it fell into ruin A writer for the Kansas City Star visited the decaying home in 1915 and found it in ruins. He climbed a set of rickety stairs to the cupola. There he found a row of benches and marveled at the view. After WWI when owned by Ed Peck it was razed. (early 1920s)
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  1859	1915 - part 1
  1915 - part 2

  
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered December, 2013.
  Updated: March, 2015
• Valencia. Octagon house. A one story octagonal house stood abandoned, with roof in 1931, just walls by 1946. 1 mi. west and 1/2 mile south of Valencia.
  
  

  Left click on the images below for larger versions.

  1931

  1946

  
  
  Source: Ellen Puerzer.
  Entered December, 2013.
  Updated: January, 2014

Wabaunsee County

• Alma. Octagon house. The Manka residence. Built in the 1880s. Located at 411 East 4th Street. Irregular octagon. Made of cottonwood limstone. Two story.

  Left click on the image below for a larger version.

  

  
  
  Sources: Jerry Freeze. Ed Carlson. John Carlson, of the Kansas Geological Survey, provides the photograph.
  Entered: March, 2004
  Updated: July, 2008