English: The Rich-Twinn Octagon House, 145 Main Street at Parkview Drive, Akron, New York, October 2021. Popularized by Orson Squire Fowler's 1848 tome A Home for All, or a New, Cheap, Convenient, and Superior Mode of Building which advocated the form due to its efficient use of space, octagon-shaped houses (usually paired with Italianate aesthetic elements) were a fairly popular feature of mid-19th century American architecture, yet the Rich-Twinn House is the only extant example in Erie County. Built in 1849, this was originally the home of Charles B. Rich (1808-1870), a prominent figure on the local business and political scene who lived there from its completion in 1849 until his death. Rich had the house designed by architect and contractor James Twinn for his wife, who had seen and admired several octagon houses during their honeymoon trip along the Erie Canal. In this example, each side of the house is sixteen feet in length; the main entrance is raised about six feet above ground level, with a half-basement below, the entire first floor is surrounded by an enormous wraparound porch, and the roof is surmounted by a handsome belvedere cupola with bracketed cornice in keeping with aforementioned Italianate principles. Interestingly, the kitchen was located in the basement, with food conveyed upwards from the large fireplace to the dining room by way of a dumbwaiter. The building has been owned by the Town of Newstead since 1981 which operates it as a local historical museum.