Clayton in Barbour County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Octagon House
Photographed by David J Gaines, March 20, 2010
1. Octagon House Marker
Inscription.
Octagon House. . This unusual house was built 1859 – 1861 by Benjamin Franklin Petty, a carriage and furniture merchant, who was a native of New York and a pioneer settler of Clayton. It was patterned after a design made popular by Orson S. Fowlers book A Home for All, or the Gravel Wall and Octagon Mode of Building, which was published in New York in 1854. In April 1865, the house was used as staff headquarters for Union Cavalry Commander General Benjamin H. Grierson. Petty heirs sold the property to Judge and Mrs. Bob T. Roberts in 1901. In 1981, under the administration of Mayor Edward C. Ventress, the property was purchased from the estate of Mary Roberts Beatty Armistead by the Town of Clayton, which has overseen its renovation.
This unusual house was built 1859 – 1861 by Benjamin Franklin Petty, a carriage and furniture merchant, who was a native of New York and a pioneer settler of Clayton. It was patterned after a design made popular by Orson S. Fowlers book A Home for All, or the Gravel Wall and Octagon Mode of Building, which was published in New York in 1854. In April 1865, the house was used as staff headquarters for Union Cavalry Commander General Benjamin H. Grierson. Petty heirs sold the property to Judge and Mrs. Bob T. Roberts in 1901. In 1981, under the administration of Mayor Edward C. Ventress, the property was purchased from the estate of Mary Roberts Beatty Armistead by the Town of Clayton, which has overseen its renovation.
Erected 1991 by Historic Chattahoochee Commission and the Clayton Historic Preservation Authority.
Location. 31° 52.729′ N, 85° 26.973′ W. Marker is in Clayton, Alabama, in Barbour County. It is on North Midway Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Clayton AL 36016, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in the Black Belt, and in the Wiregrass. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Regarding Octagon House. The Octagon House is the only antebellum example of octagon-style architecture remaining in Alabama, and one of few in country.
Photographed by David J Gaines, March 20, 2010
2. The Octagon House
Credits. This page was last revised on December 21, 2019. It was originally submitted on December 18, 2010, by David J Gaines of Pinson, Alabama. This page has been viewed 2,444 times since then and 48 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on December 18, 2010, by David J Gaines of Pinson, Alabama. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
