Inspired, no doubt, by phrenologist-architect-author Orson S. Fowler, who lectured in Marshall in 1850 on the economy and simplicity of the octagon mode, Increase Pendleton, a local cabinetmaker, built this octagon house. Fowler's book A Home for All or The Gravel Wall and Octagon Mode of Building was first published in 1848. In 1875, when he purchased the home, lumber dealer Morgan J. Alexander made extensive repairs. The exterior walls of Marshall sandstone are stuccoed, and Italianate decorative trim has been added. These changes, along with a finial (now removed) are contrary to Fowler's advocacy of simplicity in design.