The Octagon House, also known as the Inkwell or Inkbottle house, is one of the state's few surviving antebellum octagon houses. Dr. William T. Sparrow, a Craven County physician, built it in 1857 in Hyde County, NC, after a hurricane destroyed his conventional home. He thought this design offered better resistance to the area’s frequent storms.
The two-story, broadwall-constructed house features a central chimney that serves four fireplaces, with six rooms arranged around it. Notable architectural details include six-over-six sash windows, a broad frieze with shallow dentils, and a cornice with sawn brackets.
After Dr. Sparrow died in 1862, the house changed hands several times and remained occupied until the late 1950s. In 1976, the Octagon House Restoration Inc., a nonprofit organization, purchased the property to preserve and restore it.
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