The Octagon House: Historical… and Haunted?

Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

It’s 1814 and the British have just burned down the White
House and left. Where are Dolley and President Madison to stay?  Rejecting calls to move the capital from Washington, the Madisons took up residence in The Octagon, the grandest private residence yet built in the nation’s capital. It was here that President Madison signed the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812.

The house has six sides but was called “The Octagon” by its owners, who were reimbursed $500 for the Madison’s six-month occupancy. Over the next 200 years, its colorful history gave it a reputation as the most haunted house in Washington. Apparitions have been seen and felt on the spiral staircase, the second-floor landing, the third-floor landing, the third-floor bedroom, and the garden area in the rear. Opened as a museum in 1970, the building was restored to its 1817 appearance in the early 1990s.

The museum is administered by the American Institute of Architects Foundation, which will conduct a special $5.00 per person tour for Encore Learning at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, January 28. The tour focus will be on the building’s significance in Washington, DC, its features of architectural distinction, and its use by James and Dolley Madison as a temporary White House. Upon request, our guide will touch upon the Octagon ghost stories that most interested preservationist Jacqueline Bouvier (Kennedy).

Click here to register and for more information.