The Loren Andrus Octagon House, Washington Township, Michigan
The Friends of the Loren Andrus Octagon House say that in 1828, Loren traveled with his father to find a new home in the Territory of Michigan, settling in Washington Township, Macomb County.
In 1858, with the help of prominent arthitect brother-in-law David Sterward, and using Orson Squire Fowler's book about the wonders of eight-sided homes, "A Home for All", Andrus built the Octagon House as his entry in a home-for-show contest between several families to see who could build the most unusual house. He Won!
The Octagon House is Italianate in style, surrounded on six sides by a Corinthian-columned porch. A cedar-shake, shingled roof, with elegant scrolled brackets, supports the octagonal cupola. The house has eight sides with eight-foot windows letting daylight fill the interior. The interior is centered around a dramatic, 55-step, cantilevered spiral staircase which winds from the first floor to the third story cupola.
The house was used as a "station" on the "Underground Railway".
The Friends of the Loren Andrus Octagon House was formed to preserve this structure, which is on the National Register. You can learn more about it by viewing a slideshow at octagonhouse.org.