The Langworthy House, also known as the Octagon House, is a historic building located in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

, United States. Built in 1856, it was designed by local architect

John F. Rague John Francis Rague (1799–1877; pronounced ''ra-gu'') was a mid-19th century architect who designed and built numerous public buildings including the 1837 Illinois State Capitol#Former capitols, Old Capitol of Illinois and the 1840 Iowa Old ...

for local politician Edward Langworthy. The two-story brick home features tall windows, a columned entry, and a windowed cupola. Langworthy and three of his brothers were among the first settlers in Dubuque. with They were partners in a lead mine, helped to build the territorial road between Dubuque and

Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...

, they farmed, invested in real estate, and they owned a steamboat and a mercantile exchange. The house has been passed down through Langworthy's descendants. It was individually listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1975, and it was included as a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

in the Langworthy Historic District in 2004. with

References

Houses completed in 1856 Octagon houses in Iowa Houses in Dubuque, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Dubuque, Iowa Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa {{DubuqueCountyIA-NRHP-stub