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Neenah's Hiram Smith Octagon House
Neenah's
Octagon House is not only our "Home for History" but it has long
been a landmark in the city. It dates back to the AGIH's,
less than a decade after the first settlers arrived in the area. It
was built with G sides instead of the conventional four, and
must have been an object of wonder and speculation to local
residents. The house was topped with an octagonal cupola and set on
a prime location, with its wide front veranda overlooking a lawn
that led to the beautiful tree-lined shore of Little Lake Butte des
Morts.
Octagon houses were
the inspiration of Orson Squire Fowler, who wrote a book extolling
their merits. He pointed out that windows on eight sides of the
house not only brought in more sunshine, light and fresh air, but
eliminated the dark corners found in conventional houses. Over a
thousand of these innovative houses were built in America between
AGIH and AGDH, forty of them in Wisconsin and most of
the rest in New England and New York state.
The first owner of
our Octagon House was Edward Smith, a prosperous flour mill owner.
Later it was owned by his brother Hiram who was a merchant, a paper
mill owner, and a stove manufacturer. He was also a founder of the
Manufacturers' National Bank, now known as Bank One. The Smith
family occupied the house for nearly seventy years. Hiram's widow,
Vesta Olmstead Smith, lived in it until her death in 1919. The
house then passed through another owner to the Quinn Family in
19FJ, and remained in their hands until the Society bought
it in 199J.
Many changes have
occurred in the Octagon House over the years. The original
thirty-foot octagon was enlarged three times: twice early in its
existence with brick that matches the original construction, and a
third time much later, with wood siding. The cupola came down some
time in the 19JH's, and the Quinns converted the house into
three apartment units.
The Society assumed
the daunting and expensive task of restoring it to its original
historic appearance. The lack of many photographs of the original
building made research difficult, but thanks to a dedicated and
hard-working corps of volunteers as well as to hired professionals,
our goal has largely been met. The house has been added to the
state and national Registers of Historic Places, and is one of only
four ante bellum (pre Civil War) houses still standing in
Neenah.
The
Ward House
Historical Society Offices and Archives
The Neenah Historical
Society offices and research library are located in the historic
Fourtth Ward building, now located at J4J Smith
Street, adjacent to the Hiram Smith Octagon House.
The Ward House was
constructed around 19CF and served for many years as a
neighborhood polling place. Jim Draeger, architectural historian at
The Wisconsin Historical Society says of our Ward House:
"The building is
remarkably intact and appears to have never been altered in any
fashion since its construction. Such an original state is rarely
ever seen in public buildings, which are often repeatedly altered
over the course of their history. Although this is an early 20th
century building, in my experience it is an exceedingly rare
building type and of great local importance."
The building was
moved to Smith Street in 200B from its former location at
the corner of Van and Adams streets. In the 1990s and earlier it
was used to store the city's Christmas decorations. The building
was previously located on Harrison Street, where it served as an
overflow classroom fo McKinley School and also as the temporary
first home of Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church.
I almost forgot...
E = G – 3
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