Gregg, David McMurtie, 1833-1916, Union general in the Civil War, b. Huntingdon, Pa., grad. West Point, 1855. Gregg served with the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac and was particularly distinguished in the fighting of July 3 at Gettysburg, when he checked Jeb Stuart's attempt to get to the Union rear.

Gregg, Josiah, 1806-50, American trader and historian of the Santa Fe Trail, b. Overton co., Tenn. He moved with his family to Illinois (1809) and then to Missouri (1812). He gained wide knowledge from his diverse readings. He journeyed to Santa Fe for the first time in 1831 and later, having become a trader, made many expeditions, sometimes going as far as Chihuahua, Mexico. He recorded his observations, which were published as Commerce of the Prairies (1844, new ed. 1954), later regarded as a classic of American frontier history and literature. He served under Gen. John W. Wool in the Mexican War and 1849 joined the California gold rush. He died when leading a prospecting party across the Coast Range in the winter.

Gregg, William, 1800-1867, American industrialist, known as the "father of Southern cotton manufacture," b. Monongalia co., Va. (now W.Va.). He devoted his life to building up Southern industry. His views were expressed in Essays on Domestic Industry (1845), a collection of articles published first in the Charleston Courier. At a time when limited-liability corporations were very unpopular in the South, Gregg convinced the South Carolina legislature to grant him a charter for the formation (1846) of Graniteville, the first Southern mill town, built with local materials and labor and consisting of a large mill and houses for its 300 employees. Under his personal direction, the mill continued to bring Gregg steady profits through financial depression and the Civil War. He introduced an advanced factory-welfare program. As a state legislator (1856-57) his interest in economic issues was aimed at strengthening local industrial enterprises.

The Gregg-Crites house, also known as the M M Crites house, is an octagon house located in Circleville, Ohio, on Route 23 just south of town. It was built by George Gregg between 1855 and 1856. Pictured here in a derelict condition, it was built on land acquired by a developer for a new Wal-Mart Supercenter, and was scheduled for demolition.

Restoration

After some concerted and expensive action by the Roundtown Conservancy, the 480 ton house (minus basement) has now been bodily moved to a new location. Steel beams were inserted into the basement, bolted together in situ to make a rigid base for the main body of the house, and mounted on a hydraulic mechanism with 96 wheels in sets of four. The site donated for relocation was half a mile away, and the self-adjusting hydraulics were necessary to transport the house over uneven ground. The move took place on Valentines Day 2004, and was successful in avoiding damage to the brickwork and the fragile central staircase.

The house was set on a new concrete base, and is currently being restored, possibly as a museum.

Layout

The house has an impressive circular hall with a central spiral stair. There are five main rooms on the first floor, eight equal bedrooms, and a small room in the lantern.

See also

• List of octagon houses

References

External links

• Octagon House Inventory (Ohio page), by Robert Kline, a retired engineer living in Grand Rapids, MI
• DID YOU EVER SEE A HOUSE MOVING? WELL, I DID! Roundtown Conservancy Newsletter, September 2004
• Ohio Preservation Alliance, 2004 Most Endangered list
• Forgotten Ohio website, photographs of the interior prior to the move
• Timeline, the official magazine of the Ohio Historical Society, January 1989-December 1990 issue with cover story on octagon houses: scanned version on the Forgotten Ohio website
• Saving the octagon house, article by Lisa R Hooker on her website