The Octagon House: Past



The Octagon House.
circa 1860's

 The 155-year-old "Octagon House" sits on property that was originally granted by King George III to Thomas Lee in 1713. This land was once an Indian camping ground - evidenced by shell beds and pottery found along the banks of the sound. In 1765, William Hill, from Lunenberg County, Virginia, purchased what had become known as the Cedar Point Plantation – hundreds and hundreds of acres on the White Oak River near Swansboro, then part of Carteret County. William Hill was the Great-great grandfather of Edward Hill, the builder of the Octagon House in Cedar Point.


The Octagon House was completed around 1856. Originally built by the plantation owner, Edward Hill, the house stands on the same site as an earlier, smaller house that was torn down to make way for the Octagon House. There are no definite answers to why the design was chosen; to resist storms and high winds common to the area or a current fad that flourished for a brief period in the mid-19th century, when author, lecturer and amateur architect Orson S. Fowler published a book extolling the virtues of the eight-sided dwelling: "The Octagon House, A Home for All." Maybe it was a combination of reasons.

Shipwrights at work in the 1800s.

The physical builder of the house is also not clear although it is believed that shipwrights built the house. This would be logical as nearby Swansboro had a thriving ship building business in the mid 19th century. In winter months, when ship building was difficult, many shipwrights turned to traditional carpentry to provide for their families. This assessment is further realized when several years ago, when visiting the house and inspecting builder workmanship, Bill Kay was delighted to find a unique “shipwright” touch on one of the large stair rails. He discovered a device known as a "stop water”--one of the workers had put into place something essential for a keel or stem underwater, but not needed for dry land woodwork. Whomever built the house did so with great care and skill. 10"x10" and larger sills are put together with tight dovetail joints... even those that met at 45 degree angles are fitted together with exact precision. In the mid 1800's, it was one of the largest houses in the area at about 5000 square feet.

The house differs from many of that time period in that it was built in the southern plantation style and was never very ornate. It was more of a working farm style house.