Octagon House, Jacksonville, Illinois (2 of 2)
Rufus C. Crampton, professor of mathematics and astronomy at Illinois College from 1853-1888, built this house from a design developed by Orson Squire Fowler. Fowler was an American phrenologist and lecturer. He also popularized the octagon house in the middle of the nineteenth century. Octagonal houses may well be the first truly American architecture.
Built in the 1850s, this home has passed from a simple Greek Revival of the early 1850s to an enlarged, late 1860s Italianate structure. The front porch was added in 1902. Judge McClure practiced law with Richard Yates, who served as Governor of Illinois during the Civil War.
This house is contributing to the Jacksonville Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Almost all architectural styles popular in Illinois from 1830 to the mid-1930s are represented in the district.
The central Illinois City of Jacksonville was founded in 1825 and is the seat of Morgan County. The population of Jacksonville was 17,616 at the 2020 census.
Octagon House, Jacksonville, Illinois (2 of 2)
Rufus C. Crampton, professor of mathematics and astronomy at Illinois College from 1853-1888, built this house from a design developed by Orson Squire Fowler. Fowler was an American phrenologist and lecturer. He also popularized the octagon house in the middle of the nineteenth century. Octagonal houses may well be the first truly American architecture.
Built in the 1850s, this home has passed from a simple Greek Revival of the early 1850s to an enlarged, late 1860s Italianate structure. The front porch was added in 1902. Judge McClure practiced law with Richard Yates, who served as Governor of Illinois during the Civil War.
This house is contributing to the Jacksonville Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Almost all architectural styles popular in Illinois from 1830 to the mid-1930s are represented in the district.
The central Illinois City of Jacksonville was founded in 1825 and is the seat of Morgan County. The population of Jacksonville was 17,616 at the 2020 census.