{"nrhp_refnum":"78001960","name":"Inkwell","other_names":["The Octagon House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E of Lake Landing on U.S. 264","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lake Landing","county":"Hyde County","state":"NC","lat":35.48488695700007,"lon":-76.05268709199999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-09-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Inkwell, also called the Octagon House, Inkbottle House or Round House, is a two-story eight-sided frame house on the south side of US 264 near Lake Landing in Hyde County, North Carolina. It is traditionally said to have been built in the early 1850s for Dr. William T. Sparrow.","why_significant":"The house is one of the few octagon-plan houses built in North Carolina and a surviving example of the mid-nineteenth century octagon mode popularized by Orson S. Fowler. Despite alterations, it keeps its distinctive shape and floor plan focused on a central chimney. It is also a long-standing landmark in the flat farmland of Hyde County.","narrative":"Rising from open farmland near Lake Landing in Hyde County, this eight-sided, two-story frame house has long drawn the curiosity of passing travelers. Known locally as the Inkwell, the Inkbottle House or the Round House, it rests on brick piers under a low tent-like metal roof that climbs to a central octagonal chimney. Tradition holds that Dr. William T. Sparrow built it in the early 1850s, choosing the octagonal form after a hurricane destroyed his conventional house. The plan follows the octagon mode promoted by Orson S. Fowler, who argued that such houses were economical, bright and efficient. Few were built in North Carolina. Inside, square rooms sit back-to-back around the chimney, leaving trapezoidal spaces for the stair hall and closets. Some surfaces and doors have been replaced, yet the shape and plan survive. The property later passed to merchant John S. Northan and then to the Payne family. It has been neglected and unused in recent years.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Octagon mode (octagonal plan house)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as deteriorated, unoccupied and unused; it suffered neglect in recent years, and renovation was planned by a new owner.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.626054-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/2/7209/47720902/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/78001960.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001960/94a3ef9fd2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001960/94a3ef9fd2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Octagonhouse.nc","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OhWikpedia2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Octagonhouse.nc</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OhWikpedia2.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"86000786","name":"Lake Landing Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/lake-landing-historic-district-86000786/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47720902","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inkwell_(Lake_Landing,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14707981"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/hyde-county/inkwell-78001960/"}