{"nrhp_refnum":"83001756","name":"Wilcox Octagon House","other_names":["Camillus Historical Society"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5420 W. Genesee St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Camillus","county":"Onondaga County","state":"NY","lat":43.04128534300003,"lon":-76.27800009599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-07-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story octagonal house at 5420 West Genesee Street (Route 5) in Camillus, Onondaga County, New York, built in 1856 by Isaiah Wilcox. It has cobblestone aggregate and cement walls finished with stucco, and sits on a half-acre plot.","why_significant":"The house is significant architecturally as an example of the octagon style popularized by Orson S. Fowler in the mid-nineteenth century. It is one of the few octagonal structures remaining in Onondaga County with its plan and exterior largely intact. It shows nearly all the style's characteristic features: raised basement, encircling porch, cupola, and concrete and rubble construction.","narrative":"Built in 1856 by farmer Isaiah Wilcox, this eight-sided house on West Genesee Street in Camillus is one of the few octagonal buildings left in Onondaga County. Its walls, seventeen feet long and twenty-two inches thick, are made of cobblestone aggregate and cement finished with stucco. A cupola crowns the low hipped roof, and a one-story porch encircles a raised basement. Inside, a spiral staircase rises from the basement to the cupola, and twenty-two closets square off the angled walls. The design followed the octagon plan promoted by Orson S. Fowler, who argued it enclosed more floor area for the same length of wall. The Wilcox family lived here until 1900, when Edward Fox bought it; his family kept it for three generations. The Camillus Historical Society acquired it in 1965, and the Town of Camillus took over in 1981. Listed for its architecture, it is valued for its largely intact plan and exterior, despite minor alterations such as a 1930 conversion to two apartments.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Isaiah Wilcox (builder)","architectural_style":"Octagon style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and used as a museum and art gallery by the Camillus Historical Society; owned by the Town of Camillus, which hopes to restore it to its original appearance.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:42.197817-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/83001756.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001756/06cef83a79-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001756/06cef83a79-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Donald P. Cram Doncram","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WilcoxOctagonHouse_2007_12_14.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Donald P. Cram Doncram</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:WilcoxOctagonHouse_2007_12_14.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320485","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilcox_Octagon_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8000327"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/onondaga-county/wilcox-octagon-house-83001756/"}