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The Inkwell, also known as The Octagon House, is an historic eight-sided house located at 30868 US 264 in Engelhard in mainland Hyde County.
This unique building is one of only two of its kind in North Carolina. Dr. William T. Sparrow was born in Craven County in 1825. He married Elizabeth Jennett of Hyde County sometime before 1847. The property on which the house stands was originally owned by the Jennett family.
According to the Octagon House website here, Sparrow built in 1857 during a fad in the 1850s in the United States for building of eight-sided dwellings.
This fad accelerated and was believed influenced by a book titled “The Octagon House – A Home For All.”
The Octagon House Restoration, Inc. is dedicated to preserving the Octagon House for generations to come, and the group has just received a matching fund grant to elevate it.
The group is seeking tax-deductible contributions on its secure Facebook page. For all those who make donations on “Giving Tuesday, Nov. 28, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will match the donation.
For more information, visit the Octagon House Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/octagonhouse.nc/ .
1855 or “Sparrow built it around 1955”?
Fixed. It was built in 1857. Thanks, Gary.
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