Building date: 1840
Original use:
Corner structures:
Mortar application and content: Vertical, no embellishment
Types and uses of stones:
Types and choice of windows:
Structures with similar masonry details:
Masons who worked on building:
Unique features:
Map views courtesy Google Maps. Address is Google Earth confirmed; 42°53'52.89"N 75°31'01.54"W. Current owner of record, Gerow as of date (YMD) 190417.
Town of Madison and Livingston County Maps
This is believed to be the only cobblestone octagon house in existence, at 7271 Main Street in the village of Madison. It was built by James Coolidge 1850 who also built what is now known as the Landmark Tavern in nearby Bouckville. Ground level inspection suggests this house is not a true octagon. However an aerial view confirms that it is. This may have originally been a common rectangular cobblestone house with the cobblestone effect added later. The other existing cobblestone building is a blacksmith shop in the hamlet of Alloway near Lyons, N.Y. Richard Palmer blog.
Editor's Note: Another cobblestone Octagon structure has been identified at 3628 Ridge Road in Williamson, Wayne County. The exterior has a stucco veneer. Date of application is unknown.
Editor's Note: Octagon House is a correct descriptive term in this case as it does have eight sides. The front five visible sides are equal in size and geometrically correct for a symmetrical octagon configuration; however, the three rear sides are different with a larger center wall with a single story wing attached, and two smaller adjacent walls.
"The Cobblestone Houses of Upstate New York", compiled by Dorothy Wells Pease. Research done in collaboration with Hazed B. Jeffery, supplemented with material furnished by Carl F. Schmidt, 1941. Reference the third paragraph on page 42.
"Mid-York Memoranda", by Scott Phoenix, Mid York Weekly, Hamilton, NY, 1/28/1965.
"History Chips", by Marshall Hope, Oneida Daily Dispatch, 5/12/1965. See paragraph under heading "Octagon House".
"The Geological Origin of Cobblestone Architecture", by Gerda Peterich. Specific reference to this structure on page 19
"Cobblestone Architecture in the Rochester Area", by Gerda Peterich, 1953. Reference Octagonal residence and figure 49. Editor's Note: This digitized version of the original typescript manuscript is reformatted for digital display, edited for errors, and includes blue tinted highlighted links to improve access within the document, to the appropriate structure pages in the Cobblestone Info Base, or to external resources on the internet. This document is one of two known typescript drafts, likely a thesis or essay bound as a book and apparently never published. One is available in the Cobblestone Museum Resource Center, the other in the University of Rochester Art and Music Library. A companion or precursor typed paper of the same title exists, perhaps used for a talk and/or photographic display of cobblestone structures.
"Cobblestone Houses in New York and Other States", By Jackie Craven
Excerpt from thesis "Nineteenth Century Cobblestone Structures in Madison County, New York", by Ruthanne Mills, 1972. Titled Madison Octagon.
The Octagon House: A Home for All. By Fowler, Orson Squire. New York: Dover Publications, 1973 (an unabridged republication of the original 1848 version).
"Inventory of Older Octagon, Hexagon, and Round Houses, NEW YORK Counties N to Z". Accessing a portion of an educational website, Bobanna Website, by R. Kline and Ellen Puerzer. To locate information on this cobblestone octagon structure, scroll or search for Madison County and immediately following · Madison. Octagon house. Built by James Coolidge, about 1850. Courtesy Robert Kline and E. Puerzer.
Editor's Note: Statement on website: This site is copyrighted (c) 2002, 2016-17 by Robert Kline, and developed and maintained by Robert Kline and Ellen Puerzer. Many photos are copyrighted or controlled. Please mention this site if using any of the information contained herein. Write for permission to use photos and you'll be directed to copyright owner. Please send e-mail to either R. Kline or E. Puerzer.
- "Cobblestone Masonry", 1966, Carl Schmidt: Name reference, The Octagon House
- Page 38
- "Cobblestone Landmarks of New York State", 1978, by Olaf William Shelgren, Jr., Cary Lattin, and Robert W. Frasch, Photographs by Gerda Peterich: Name reference, House
- Page 156
- "The Era of Cobblestone Architecture", unpublished manuscript 1972. To access the manuscript content about this structure, see 19. Madison County, Gerow House.
 Madison_Oct Hse MAD-5.jpg ¹ Postcard |  Mad-5 Gerow 1.jpg ² c. 1930 Photography courtesy Charles Hopkins. |  Mad-5 Gerow 2.jpg ² Pease Collection 1940 |  GP Madison Madison Mad-5 2_1 N.jpg ³ |
 GP Madison Madison Mad-5 1_1 N.jpg ³ |  Mad-5 Gerow 4.jpg ² |  Mad-5 Gerow 5.jpg ² |  Mad_5_1.jpg |
 Mad_5_2.jpg |  Mad_5_3.jpg |  Mad_5_4.jpg |  Mad-5 7271 W Main St 1.jpg 4 |
 Mad-5 7271 W Main St 2.jpg 4 |  Octagon 2.jpg 5 |  Octagon 1.jpg 5 |  Mad-5 Gerow 6.jpg 5 |
¹ Image courtesy Dave Porter, image collector, Cazenovia, New York.
² Image courtesy Cobblestone Museum.
³ Photography courtesy Gerda Peterich. Cobblestone Museum.
4 Photography courtesy Martin and Sheila Wolfish.
5 Photography courtesy Richard Palmer.
