The Octagon House, Washington D.C. IN WHICH DOLLY MADISON
LAVISHED HOSPITALITY IN 1814 John Tayloe, the wealthiest man in
the Virginia of the late eighteenth century, had his summer home
at Mt. Airy. His plantation, the largest in the State, was
worked by more than five hundred slaves. When he wanted a winter
home, he thought of building at Philadelphia. But George
Washington, eager to secure him as a resident of the young
Federal City on the Potomac, asked him to consider the erection
of a house there. So Mr. Tayloe made an investigation of
Washington as a site for a residence, bought a lot for one
thousand dollars, and in 1798 commissioned Dr. William Thornton
to make the plans for a palatial house. During the construction
of the building Washington several times rode by and from the
saddle inspected the progress of the work. Thornton was at the
time a well-known man, though he had been born in the West
Indies and was for many years a resident there. After receiving
his education in Europe, he lived for sev