Barren County Octagon Cottage

Octagon Cottage, located in Barren County in western Kentucky, is one of less than five octagonal houses in the state.  The existence of an octagonal dependency serves to establish the rarity of this complex and its importance within the state.

The house was constructed around 1850 by William Henry Edmunds, a native of Barren County.  Edmunds, born in 1823 near Glasgow, was an attorney and businessman by profession.  In the mid-1850s, he and his family moved from Glasgow to a farm where he built his octago-plan house. 

Originally the farm complex was comprised of the ain house and four dependencies - all octagonal in form.  Situated within sixty feet of the house, the outbuildings included the office, which still stands, carriage house, wash house and kitchen. 

The uniqueness of the octaonal plan as a house form and the few existig examples within the state are evidence of the significance of the Edmunds house as an architectural type.  In addition, the house has experienced little alteration and remains virtually unaltered since its construction.