Petty-Roberts-Beatty House
a.k.a. Octagon House
103 N. Midway, Clayton, ALThe primary significance of the octagon:house in Clayton is its relative architectural uniqueness. Only two known examples of the octagonal mode of architecture have survived in Alabama. Most octagonal houses in the United States were built between 1848 and 1860 following the publication in 1848 of A Home for All or the Gravel Wall and Octagon Mode of Building, New Cheap, Convenient, Superior and Adapted to Rich and Poor by Orson Squire Fowler, a noted phrenologist and author of books on marriage and sexual science.
The octagonal house in Clayton was built by B. F. Petty in 1861. It is believed that Mr. Petty had seen a similar home in New York and modeled his home after it. Petty lived in this home until 1876 when he died, however, his family continued to live there until 1901 when they sold the house to Judge B. T. Roberts. The house was used as a headquarters for the Union forces after they captured Clayton in the Civil War. Following Judge Roberts 1 death, his son-in-law, W. C. Beatty, bought the house. The second floor has been made into an apartment.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.