Octagon House Museum — Attraction in Watertown

The Octagon House is an interesting bit of Watertown history. I don't normally visit these kinds of attractions, but I was curious. The price for a guided tour of the house is $10 per person. The tours start at the top of the hour between 12 and 3. The woman leading the tour was friendly and happy to answer any questions we had. Besides my wife and I, there were three other people on my tour. The rooms are somewhat small, so I am glad we didn't have a larger group. Otherwise it may have been difficult to see the details. The house is nicely furnished in what I assume is period appropriate. I enjoyed the tour and appreciated the ability to ask questions. Unfortunately, one hour was not sufficient time for me to fully experience the house and all it had on display. I realize that people generally cannot be trusted to behave themselves, but I wish I had more time to experience everything at my own pace. To compare, I spent 1 hour in Octagon House, with 5 floors and many rooms. I spent another 45 minutes on the self guided portion which included an old barn and the country's first kindergarten, which was basically two large rooms. I enjoyed my visit overall, but doubt that I would return unless I could explore at a more...

Very cool house. The tour is very disappointing. While they have a lot of cool facts, they give you no time to look. On the top floor there is probably 15+ cases of history displayed with a lot of items. We were doing great throughout the tour so I was in shock when the tour guide told us we only had 4! minutes to look around and go up to the 360 tower. I didn't even have time to go and quickly take pictures of said displays to at least look at later. The mildly irritating part was that they had crammed items into the house that were not owned by the family. While I understand trying to show how things where laid out then, that made it hard to cram the group into the rooms. It was therefore hard to know what was original to the family and...

This is a great place to visit. What an interesting architectural home! The venting achieved by the design of circular staircase in center of home, and windows/french doors across from each other is super!! We need that today in homes! Our tour guide was excellent, working there 25 years she knows the history without script, and gives you details when you ask questions. She even dresses the part in period dress. The grounds are well done and maintained. The barn with it's historical pieces, and the first registered kindergarten adds another level of interest to your visit which you do on your own. Close to the Rock River it is a lovely neighborhood as well. Stop in when you are area, call for times and days available during the rest of...