The Octagon House was built as the residence of Isaac Brown, a trader and carpenter. It was built with nine secret passageways and spaces, including a tunnel to the woodshed. The house was used as a safe house on the Underground Railroad; a small storage space beneath the porch was used to hide runaway slaves. It was the home of Civil War Major Edwin Brown, who was killed at the battle of Antietam in 1862. Some modern visitors report hearing sounds of small children playing and laughing, and feeling cold hands touching them; these are believed to be the spirits of Edwin Brown's children. The house was featured on the History Channel's show Hidden Passages, as "the second-most haunted house in Wisconsin." The house is not currently open to the public, but may be seen from the exterior.