The Octagon House is located in Hoosick Falls on River Street, NY 22, next to the railroad tracks. The house was designed by Ezra Estabrook. Construction began in 1854 and took two years to complete. According to Orson S. Fowler in A House For All, octagon houses were cheaper and easier to build, giving a fifth extra room. The umbrella roof made a much larger attic and, if necessary, could be made into rooms by adding windows. Superstition advanced the idea that people were safer in a house not having corners and therefore the devil could not corner those who lived in such a house.

Estabrook wanted his house to last. He carefully selected for the foundation a mixture of gravel, marble chips, and stones. The walls were carefully poured and as they used a New York cement of great hardness, it has stood the test of time.

Source of historic text: Alex Brooks at the Miller Museum.