Octagon, Indiana

A post office was established at Octagon in 1866, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1900.^[4] Mail was subsequently routed through Lafayette.^[5]

Octagon was the site of a Masonic Lodge established in 1874, as well as several churches and schools over the years. The site apparently took its name from an octagon-shaped schoolhouse on the site at one time.^[6]

Octagon's population was 488 in 1900.^[7]

The original Octagon Schoolhouse, also known as Number 2, was named for the shape of the building, which was sometimes described as round. It was razed around 1872.^[8] The second Octagon School was an eight-sided building constructed in 1914, at a cost of $2,900. The Indiana State Superintendent called the eight-sided, one-room open design an "ideal plan" for a school.^[9] The stucco building was heated with coal, and there were no indoor restrooms.^[10]

Octagon's population was listed as 5 in 1940.^[3]

By 1975, Octagon had only "a few houses" and the Masonic temple, and was described as a "ghost town".^[11] The Masonic lodge had 107 members in 1954,^[6] and was still active at least as recently as 2002.^[12]

• Cairo, Indiana