Octagon House

This three story town house was built between 1798 and 1800, for a wealthy Virginian plantation owner, Colonel John Tayloe who was encouraged to do so by George Washington. The architect, the talented Dr. William Thornton who had designed the U.S. Capitol building, built this home in the shape of an octagon to fit the odd-shaped property lot.George Washington spent time here with his friend, Colonel Taylor.

After the British burned the White House and occupied Washington D.C. during the War of 1812, Colonel John Tayloe invited President Madison and his wife Dolly to make The Octagon served as a temporary White House. So, it makes sense that it is here where President Madison signed the peace treaty with Great Britain that ended the War of 1812.

In 1855, after Mrs. Tayloe died, Tayloe's Octagon House became a school for girls. As the neighborhood went down hill, The Octagon House suffered from lack of care and maintenance; gradually became a rundown, slum property. Uh oh!

However, in 1899, the American Institute of Architects rescued The Octagon House from further decay by purchasing and restoring the building, and The Octagon House became the Institute’s Headquarters. The Octagon House is open to the public as a museum, a treasured historical landmark.

Enforced parental standards can cause heart-break for all concerned. The fall out caused consequences that were hard to live with or forget.

Colonel John Tayloe forbade his daughter from marring her beloved; causing two unhappy spirits stuck here.

Having to make hard, life-changing choices can lead to harsh unintended results.

A servant girl chose death over being raped.

The staircase is the center of ghostly incidents. Specifically, on the 2nd floor landing near the Banister, on the third floor and on the ground floor, a long list of witnesses have given an account of hearing footsteps of a man and of a woman, hearing a melancholy, sorrowful female voice, seeing unexplainable, unusual occurrences and even feeling unseen presences, ever since the middle 1800's.

Ghostly Footsteps

The Assistant Curator of the Octagon Mansion, who was working on the 2nd floor, heard foot steps on the closed-off 3rd floor, walking up and down. When she quietly went to the 3rd floor to investigate, she saw on the dusty floor some very light footprints, the “outlines of 2 delicate feet of an unseen woman.” These foot impressions in the dust were far too light to be made by human feet, only ghostly ones.