Built in the early 1850s by sculptor Edward Augustus Brackett, and based on popular plans described by Orson Squire Fowler, it is Winchester's only octagonal house.

It consisted of a series of four interlocking octagons, with varying heights and roof lines to create interesting visual effects.

The building was originally finished in vertical board-and-batten siding and trimmed with then-fashionable Italianate brackets under its eaves, but these features were removed during the 1900 renovations, and the building exterior was redone in stucco.

[2] Edward Brackett was a distinctive local personality, trained as a sculptor but also a poet and conservationist.

He established a fish hatchery nearby, and ran a commercial nursery.