The Clarence Darrow Octagon House is a historic

octagon house Octagon houses were a unique house style briefly popular in the 1850s in the United States and Canada. They are characterised by an octagonal (eight-sided) plan, and often feature a flat roof and a veranda all round. Their unusual shape and app ...

in the community of Kinsman,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Home to lawyer

Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the early 20th century for his involvement in the Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. He was a leading member of t ...

in his childhood, it has been named a

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

. Born in the nearby community of Farmdale, Clarence Darrow was the son of a

cabinetmaker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (s ...

. Together with his family, he moved to the octagon house in 1864 at the age of seven and lived in it until the family moved out of state circa 1873. Darrow became a nationally prominent lawyer in his adulthood,Marker #12-78 Darrow Octagon House / Clarence Darrow (1857-1938)
,

Ohio Historical Society Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

, 2000. Accessed 2015-01-02. and he remembered the octagon house as his home during his most significant childhood years, at a time when his interest in the law was leading him into activities such as running mock trials with his friends. Darrow's final visit to the house occurred in 1936, two years before his death.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 2.

St. Clair Shores St. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located about northeast of downtown Detroit. Its population was 59,715 at the 2010 ...

: Somerset, 1345. Constructed circa 1854, the Darrow House is typical of octagon houses, a short-lived popular passion during the middle of the nineteenth century; its leading proponent,

Orson Squire Fowler Orson Squire Fowler (October 11, 1809 – August 18, 1887) was an American phrenologist and lecturer. He also popularized the octagon house in the middle of the nineteenth century. Early life The son of Horace and Martha (Howe) Fowler, he w ...

, advocated their construction as a means of providing superior housing for the poor, and the design allowed for the interior space to be used more efficiently. The Darrow House is primarily a wooden building; the walls are

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

, with concrete used for chinking. There are seven rooms inside, and much of the original woodworking (for example, the cupboards) survives, as well as the original fireplaces and mantels. The first

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

of the house is surrounded by a prominent porch, which is absent from only one of the eight sides. Windows are centered in the sides on both stories, and a chimney protrudes from the center.,

, 2007. Accessed 2010-02-23. In September 1971, the Clarence Darrow Octagon House was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, just one week after the same distinction was awarded to Kinsman's Congregational-Presbyterian Church and Dr. Peter Allen House. It is one of seven Ohio octagon houses on the National Register; most were built circa 1860, although "

the Octagon The Octagon may refer to: *The Octagon, Christchurch, a former church in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand *The Octagon, Dunedin, the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand *The Octagon (Egypt), the headquarters of the Egyptian Ministry of ...

" in

Tiffin Tiffin is an Indian English word for a type of meal. It refers to a light breakfast or a light tea-time meal at about 3 p.m., consisting of typical tea-time foods. In certain parts of India, it can also refer to the midday luncheon or, in s ...

dates from 1852. Unlike the other houses, which qualified for the Register because of their architecture, the Darrow House was deemed eligible solely because of its famous resident. A state

historical marker A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

was placed in front of the house in 2000.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Houses completed in 1854 Houses in Trumbull County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Trumbull County, Ohio Octagon houses in Ohio