Stetson House circa 1860

 

Stetson House, circa 1860; Oil painting by Darcy Smith

Octagon Houses

 

 Introduction | Stetson House History | Floor Plans & More Information

Introduction:

Octagon houses have a very short history. Orson Squire Fowler is responsible for designing and procreating the construction of most of the American octagon houses in the mid and late 19th century. Fowler wrote political tracts and newspaper articles claiming that the shape of the octagon was superior due to a high ratio of interior space to wall footage and to their efficiency. This was important in the 19th century as materials were expensive and labor inexpensive (the opposite of today).  Furthermore, octagons were known to experiment with construction material as well. A "gravel wall" (basic concrete) was often used to pour an entire house from the basement to the second floor, while others were brick, porcelain block, or a combination of materials available at the time. He himself built a 100 room octagon mansion that was later raised after he came into financial troubles. For regular people, he designed two main sizes of octagons (i.e. "large" and "small") as  the "poor man's mansion."

If you are interested in learning more about octagons, there are several books and guides to the octagon era—short as it was—that are now mostly out of print.  They include:

 

One of the best places to visit is the comprehensive site, Octagon Inventory, which is a great resource about octagons and catalogs of many of the octagons still standing (and there are a lot of them!). 

Stetson House: A History of Owners & Tenants

1860: Le Roy Newton (1827-1904), married to Julia Anne (Morley) Newton from Smyrna (d. 1928) built houses, specifically, octagon houses. It is reported that he built the older, larger octagon in South Otselic, New York around 1857.  It is likely that he also built the smaller octagon house (a.k.a. the Stetson House) around 1860 for Orrin and Lucretia Stetson.

1860 - 1889: Orrin Stetson (1802 - November 12, 1868) was a cobbler over the original general store in South Otselic, New York. (It is said that Frank Cox would often visit the shop.) Orrin married Lucretia (1803 - April 1889), and they had four children: Horace (b. 1826), Edwin (b. 1829), Urselia (b. 1835), and Dwight (b. 1842). When the house was finished, they moved from the Foor-Pessin's live to town circa 1860. Horace later married and moved to Chicago, and had a daughter, Mary. In April of 1889, Lucretia Stetson, widow, 86 years old, dies.

July 1889: An ad runs in the paper: "For sale: house, lot, and barn; property formerly owned by Mrs. L. Stetson. Enquire of Mrs. F. E. Ufford -- Frances (Stetson) Ufford"

August-September 1889 - 1891: Frank Eugene Cox (August 9. 1855 - March 12, 1943) and wife Mary Arabelle (Peck) (January 1, 1859 - July 7 1892) (married on September 17, 1878) move into the Stetson house. They had two children: Elora and Camilla. Camilla later married a Carl Ladd, a professional from Cornell University. Camilla died of ptomaine poisoning from salmon ice-cream. In 1890, the Cox Block is built (originally only as a two story building). After Belle's death in 1892 and after leaving the octagon, Frank Cox remarried Mamie (Young) (October 1, 1874 - February 13, 1967) on October 17, 1894. Incidentally, Frank Cox is responsible for almost all of the early photographs of South Otselic, New York as he loved photography and sold the resulting postcards in his store. During this time, George Andrews of Pitcher places a steel roof on the Stetson house in August of 1891 .

June 1897: Stephen Ryan (1860 - 1928) hired the Stetson house -- apparently, the house is being manage by relatives of the original Stetsons. Stephen worked at the Robert's Block (men's clothing) across from the post office in South Otselic, New York. Stephen was married to Loretta (Cook) (d. 1934), called "Ettie" for short (Loretta was somehow related to the Woodleys). Together, they had ten children: Frank L (b. Jan 1884), Cassie Margaret (expensive dress maker in Syracuse -- never married), Grace E.(worked with sister, never married), Lewis L. (1891-1961 -- lawyer in Syracuse), Amelia (1895-1977 -- married Clarence Gaines who invents Gaines Dog Food), infant who died (b. 1893), Marion L. (d. Jan 28, 1975), Clair, Harold S. (1900 -1974), Stephen Jr. (190?). In 190?, the family moved to Norwich, New York. In 1900, Aaron Y. Stoddard and W.E. Price replastered the outside of the octagon. It is unclear who (if anyone) was living there at the time, but it was probably the Ryans. 

June 1904 - 1936: George B. Angell (1861 - 1919) from Oxford, New York and Leora (Kenyon) (1874 - 1936), purchased the Stetson house. George married Leora in 1903 after his first wife, Nettie (Record) (1863 - 1900) suddenly died on November 17, 1900.  Leora worked for Reynolds (which becomes Gladding) in South Otselic, New York. Their first daughter, (Catherine) was born in October 28, 1904. They also purchased the general store from the Perkins (where the gas station currently is -- the original building was larger than the Cox Block). They had two more children: Harry Kenyon ("Kenyon"), July 26, 1906; Georgia Ethlinda (July 3, 1917 - died at age 12 in 1929 of pneumonia; note that George was 56 years old when she was born). Leora lived in the octagon until her death in 1936, age 62. 

1937 - 1986: Ralph Ladd (Aug. 11, 1896 - July 10, 1986) and Ruth Ladd (Dec. 30, 1896 - Dec. 14, 1986), married on March 5, 1922, purchased the Stetson house, and  moved on February 20, 1937. They had no children. Ruth worked in the shipping department at Gladding and was also a nurse. Ralph worked as an inventor/machinist at Gladding. They were conservative, caring, and emphatic about building community. They often generously donated funds to the local church, the community, and the children of South Otselic. They died within six months of each other, at the ages of 90. At some point, they added the bathroom downstairs.

1987 - 1996: Neva Delphine (Feint) Peak (Oct. 27, 1902 - July 7, 1996) and her third husband, Ivan Peak (1903-19??) (married July 3, 1978) purchased and moved into the octagon in 1987. Neva moved from where the Foor-Pessin's now live where she had lived with her first husband, John Kirk Wood (July 3, 1900 - April 29, 1946), who committed suicide and her second husband, Haugop Toupouzian (May 1, 1891 - January 18, 1971) from Turkey. They added carpet to the first floor when they moved in and a purchased a new furnace in 1989.

March 1997-November 2001: Adam R. Marcotte (April 28, 1971 - ) and Heidi Lee Haugen (January 28, 1966 - ) purchase the Stetson house in February 1997 as their first home. Adam moved in on March 14, 1997 during a snow day with the help of Jay Graham and his son, Sam.  Adam was teaching junior/senior high English at Otselic Valley Central School.  Heidi moved into the Stetson house from Ithaca, New York, in August 1997 after their commitment ceremony on June 29, 1997. Heidi was working on her Ph.D. at Cornell University and finished in May of 2000. Together, they began to restore the octagon and making basic improvements (heat to the upstairs).  In addition, they began to collect the information (listed here) and supporting photographs, which now hang on the "History Wall" in the entry way.

November 2000: Michael C. Sheridan from Queens, New York purchased the Stetson House in November 2000 and rented the house to Adam Marcotte and Heidi Haugen until March of 2001.  Michael is bringing back the flavor of the Stetson House with authentic furniture, good company, and excellent pecan pie.  He has also opened its doors to people who want to visit it and/or the community.  For more information, you can visit him online at http://www.octagonguesthouse.com.

Floor Plans & More Information:

 

If you would like to stay at house or have information about octagons in general, you can contact the new owner, Mr. Michael Sheridan, by visiting http://www.octagonguesthouse.com.

 

You can also visit the comprehensive site, the on-line Octagon Inventory, which is a great resource about octagons and catalogs of many of the octagons still standing (and there are a lot of them!).

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