Whether for bootlegging during Prohibition or as a stop on the Underground Railroad, the purpose of its many secret passages and hidden rooms remain a mystery. After that time it seems to have been seen exclusively by the maintenance men who work in the house late at night. "[26], Museum superintendent Alric H. Clay claimed that in the 1960s spirits would often turn on the lights and open The Octagon's doors late at night. A small storage room is concealed beneath the porch. Dutton House, VT (A young girl died here from either an accident or an illness). Octagon Hall (Also referred to as Octagon House, Mayfair Farm (s), Eight-Sided Mansion, Caldwell-Williams House) 6040 Bowling Green Road Franklin, KY 42134 Historic Timeline St James Hotel, NM (Spirit of Mary Lambert is still trying to keep up with her active toddler who is still a handful). When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Edwin joined his friend Edward Bragg on the battlefield fighting for the Union. Instead he chose the primitive wilds of the new federal city and the architect Dr. William Thornton, the man who designed the new United States Capitol and the help of James Hoban winner of the White House design contest. As word got around of his intent to build, William Augustine Washington III (who was married to Tayloes sister Sarah) persuaded John to construct the home on the outskirts of what was Washington D.C. at the time. This historic home has signs of unseen presences, visual and auditory activity, and actual visual sightings spirits who still love this place. Pamphlet, "The Octagon A Brief Description and History" (American Institute of Architects). This daughter, too, fell to her death down the stairs (or over the railing), and her shade is alleged to haunt the third floor landing and stairs between the second and third floors. There are no reports of a body ever being found in the house during the restorations undertaken in the 20th century, or before then. The legend appears again in 1975, in Ghosts: Washingtons Most Famous Ghost Stories by John Alexander. These variants were both included in a 1934 article entitled Octagon House Ghost Stories by Virginia Faulkner. They occupied the building as their main office until it was named a national landmark in 1960. At one point, he was considered one of the wealthiest Americans of the post-Revolutionary War era. Colonel John Tayloe III, for whom the house was built, was born at Mount Airy which he later inherited the colonial estate built by his father, John Tayloe II on the north bank of the Rappahannock River across from Tappahannock, Virginia. The Hermitage, TN (The spirit of Andrew Jackson made it crystal clear to sleeping people in the living room to get up and start working on his house, NOW!). The story as related is that the crazed lover committed suicide by leaping over the balustrade from the top landing, falling to the hard, stone floor below.. A first-hand account was printed in a local newspaper, and this was subsequently quoted or paraphrased in articles printed in 1892, 1934, 1941, 1950, and 1969. The house was modeled after Donato Bramante's 1502 Tempietto in Rome, which in turn was based on a Tholos, a type of ancient . In 1937 the book Washington: City and Capital stated that, At midnight Dolley Madison is believed to hold court again among the shades of pretty women and stately men. But one thing is certain: When youre there, youre never alone in the house. It was Washington himself that suggested that Thornton would be responsible for the architecture of the Tayloe home. My theory is that the spirit of Rose was angry at first because the living turned out to be dolts, neglecting her house. A lot of TLC was showered on this historic home by the current owner, Helen Hanson for forty plus years. They built a large modern office behind the Octagon House and restored the building to its original splendor. The house, which PG&E spokesmen said the company places no value on, is one of the few in San Francisco never to have been wired for electricity. The decline of the Octagon House began in April 1906 when the earthquake destroyed whole sides of the home. An electrician was brought in to, finally, get lights in the place. But he remained loyal to his country in the War of 1812 serving as a Colonel in the Virginia Militia, and later on, in the Virginia State Senate. Haunted Live S01E01 ~ Into the Fire, Octagon Hall. Apparently, this was more than enough to earn the moniker of being octagonal in its day. Rebecca Plater Tayloe died in 1815 at the age of 18, but at that time the Octagon was being rented by President Madison, and the Tayloe family was staying at their Mount Airy Plantation in Richmond County, VA. Sources state that the Tayloe family was "grief stricken by the loss through illness of their eighteen year old daughter Rebecca Plater while at Mount Airy". She has gotten some help in finding new homes for her huge collections. In 1898, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) selected the Octagon to be their new national headquarters. Octagon House, WI (Three of the Edmund Brown children died probably from disease. It is one of two octagon homes in the city of Fond du lac. The Octagon House has a rich history and has seen several deaths within its walls. "Return to Powhatan Growing up in Old Virginia," by Roberta Love Tayloe (1985) p.6-12,19. A first-hand account was printed in a local newspaper, and this was subsequently quoted or paraphrased in articles printed in 1892, 1934, 1941, 1950, and 1969. November 2, 1952: The Octagon House on Gough Street, between Green and Union Street, in San Francisco's Cow Hollow. July 9, 1952: Octagon House located at 1067 Green Street, in San Francisco's Russian Hill. This condemned home became endangered when plans for a new school were presented, and the authorities were eyeing this property with plans to tear it down if no one would buy it, despite being listed on the NRHP. Among other remedies, had been previously tried that of exorcism, but the prayers of the priest who had been summoned availed nought.". From all quarters the party rushed Too brave to desert, yet cowards at heart, we watched the gray light of morning dawn, and each man of us thanked God his night among ghosts was past. from Georgetown, and about .5mi. The building served as a hospital for Confederate soldiers and a target for the Union Army during the Civil War. A newspaper of the account included a reference to the legend of the bells. "Ghosts: Washington's Most Famous Ghost Stories, U.S. National Register of Historic Places, St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, American Institute of Architects Foundation, List of National Historic Landmarks in the District of Columbia, List of octagonal buildings and structures in the United States. There is no historical evidence to support these stories. The interior is elaborately finished, the doors of the first story being of mahogany. The Octagon House is rumored to be home to several ghosts. Virginia Tayloe Lewis, a granddaughter of John Tayloe III, grew up in the house, and recorded this family memorate in an unpublished manuscript: "The bells rang for a long time after my Grandfather Tayloes death, and every one said that the house was haunted; the wires were cut and still they rang Our dining room servant would come upstairs to ask if anyone rang the bell, and no one had.". The other death, stories claim, occurred in 1817 or shortly thereafter. ", "Friends and reason ascribed it to the electricity while fable told the tale of an old white woman in Virginia who made a request of said Mr. Tayloe, which he refused. Updates have been made, including electrical, mechanicals, central air and a new roof. There are gorgeous hardwood floors throughout the house. The Bethlehem Globe-Times in 1949 reported a story in which the mortal Dolley (while she was still alive) was distressed at the ghostly sounds in the Octagon and reportedly told her husband, James sir, were going to move. The event is part of Travel Channel's third annual "Ghostober" programming event. Another of Colonel Tayloes daughters eloped with a young man, incurring her fathers wrath. One location in particular that has a reputation for frequent unexplained activity was the impressive circular stairwell of the house. The Octagon House, also known as the Colonel John Tayloe III House, built in 1799 and located at 1799 New York Avenue, Northwest in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The residents were probably mostly workers in the factories that populated Foggy Bottom. The house was once the temporary home of then-President James Madison and his wife Dolley as the White House was undergoing reconstruction due to the fire that burned a good portion of the building and Washington in general during the War of 1812. He also was the Mayor of his community. Inside the tin box found by the electrician was a time capsule left there by the McElroys almost 100 years before. The tin box that solved the mystery of San Francisco's Octagon House. Series, American Pickers filmed here and bought some of her items, relieving her of some treasures. In 1900, the property became strictly a rental unit for tenants. It was rented to a girls' school in the 1860s, and the Federal government in the 1870s, when it served as office space for the Hydrographic Office of the U.S. Navy. Mayor Issac was also very anti-slavery, and decided to live his beliefs by using this new structure for the good of humanity. Ann was only a year younger than her husband. I regard Octagon House as being possessed by the spirit world, long time owner Marlene Hansen said in 1976. The Octagon House, considered to be one of the most haunted places in Fond du Lac, is located in the historic district at 276 Linden Street. The legend of the bells then faded until 1952, when it appeared in an unpublished manuscript by Jacqueline Bouvier who wrote that Mrs. John Tayloe had the bell wires cut after her husbands death in 1828 because she felt that enemies were trying to drive her from the house. In 1956 the legend of the ghost of the slave girl, also a suicide, supposed to run screaming through the garden was dispelled by the AIAs resident historian, a Mr. Saylor. The Octagon was firmly established as a haunted house by 1888, when, it is reported, twelve men decided to spend a night in the house in order to expel the ghosts or prove the legends wrong. [18] When the house held bells to summon servants, the spirits of the dead slaves would announce their presence by ringing these bells loudly. Undaunted, Marlene Hanson went forward in restoring this historic gem through the loans from National Register of Historic Places; which also means that Marlene Hanson had to abide with the NRHP rules as well. There is no historical evidence to support these stories. John Tayloe III was a Federalist, and not terribly supportive of President James Madison and the war with England that began in 1812, but he was active in the Virginia militia and commanded a regiment of DC cavalry. "Halloween is inching closer, and it wouldn't. January 16, 1984: Feusier Octagon House, located at 1067 Green Street, in San Francisco's Russian Hill. For a complete list of the births and deaths of the Tayloe children, see the John Tayloe III page. Captain Lords Mansion Inn, ME (As a widow, Phoebe Lordraised the couples nine children by herself. The citys reputation earned it the nickname Little Chicago in reference to its enterprising neighbor to the south where gangsters like Bugs Moran and Al Capone ran massive operations in the trade of illicit booze. The lot was in open country west of the partly built President's House, about 1mi. The earliest variant of the Bells Legend is purported to have been recorded in the diary of a daughter of President Monroe, Maria Hester Monroe Gouveneur. Event Start Time: 8:30pm Event Finish Time: 4:00am The Clancy Family moved into this house; the first of many renters. She was noted for her social gifts, which boosted her husbands popularity as President. This daughter, too, fell to her death down the stairs (or over the railing), and her shade is alleged to haunt the third floor landing and stairs between the second and third floors.[24]. The oldest of the ghost legends seems to be one which deals with the mysterious ringing of the servants call bells. The Octagon Hall Museum has been visited by over 500 different Paranormal Teams. Also, a kitchen, a basement, an attic, probably common rooms like a living and dining area; all have their place in the houses 2,420 sq feet on a double corner lot. Southwest Wisconsin Paranormal Group has caught substantial hard evidence, and have proclaimed that the Octagon House is very haunted indeed. This five-bedroom, three-bathroom house is on 9.2 acres in a rural part of western Massachusetts. Neither one of them were hurt. By this time, it was the centerpiece of a roughly 60,000 acre department of interdependent plantation farms-known as the Mount Airy department, located approximately one hundred miles south of Washington, D.C., in Richmond County, Virginia. It is the only known fully domed octagonal residence. PG&E bought the property in 1904, not for its curiosity value, but because it might be a good site for a substation. One night, nearly a dozen men were said to have spent the night here with the intent to scare off any of the spirits that may have occupied the house. Ann Ogle Tayloe had offered the house to the French consul, in the hopes of sparing the house from destruction at the hands of the British, and he was occupying the house when the British arrived in the city. She started to rent this property to tenants, while trying to sell The Historic 1856 Octagon House as of June 2007. 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