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A self-guided Christmas visit connects an 1854 octagonal home with the Watertown schoolhouse where the first kindergarten in the United States was founded.
All times are local to the venue · America/Chicago
Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13, 2026, 11:00–15:00 each day. New self-guided tour starts every 15 minutes.
Two nineteenth-century Watertown stories share this holiday route: the Octagon House’s unusual approach to domestic design and the school building where Margarethe Meyer Schurz founded the First Kindergarten in the United States in 1856. Both landmarks, along with the attached Interactive Classroom, are included in the self-guided visit.
John Richards completed the Octagon House in 1854. Its eight-sided plan followed ideas promoted by New York architect Orson Fowler, who argued that octagonal homes offered health benefits. The shape gives the holiday tour an architectural story as well as decorated rooms to view.
The museum describes the solid-brick residence as five stories tall, with early forms of central heating, running water and ventilation. It was also among Wisconsin’s largest homes built before the Civil War. Eventbrite describes three of its floors as fully decorated for this tour, so the five-story house’s broader history and the event’s announced route are distinct.
Further reading: Octagon House Holiday Tour Tickets, Multiple dates | Eventbrite ↗ · Octagon House Museum ↗
Margarethe Meyer Schurz founded the First Kindergarten in the United States in Watertown in 1856. The building began at the corner of North Second and Jones streets; the museum moved it to the Octagon House grounds in 1956 to preserve it. Its interior is furnished to suggest how it looked in 1856.
The tour also includes the attached First Kindergarten Interactive Classroom. Formally dedicated in 2025, it presents the story of the kindergarten’s founding through a modern interactive approach. The event listing says the classroom, like the historic house and kindergarten, will be decorated for the holiday visit.
Further reading: History for the Holiday Tours | Visit Watertown, Wisconsin ↗ · Octagon House Holiday Tour Tickets, Multiple dates | Eventbrite ↗ · Octagon House Museum/First Kindergarten ↗
Both dates offer the same visit, with a new tour starting every 15 minutes during the 11 a.m.–3 p.m. event window. The staggered departures are intended to spread visitors through the decorated spaces, rather than sending everyone out on one fixed tour time.
The tours run Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Octagon House Museum, 919 Charles Street, Watertown, WI 53094. A new tour starts every 15 minutes.
History for the Holiday Tours | Visit Watertown, Wisconsin ↗ · Events | octagonhousemuseum ↗
Visit Watertown and the museum list admission at $13 per person, with tickets available online or at the door. Eventbrite displays $15.71; the listings do not explain the difference. Eventbrite also states that tickets are nonrefundable.
The event listing advises buying early because tickets could sell out. Door sales are offered, but availability is not guaranteed.
History for the Holiday Tours | Visit Watertown, Wisconsin ↗ · History for the Holiday Tours | Visit Watertown, Wisconsin ↗ · Octagon House Holiday Tour Tickets, Multiple dates | Eventbrite ↗ · Events | octagonhousemuseum ↗
The official event flyer says visitors must climb stairs in the Octagon House, which Eventbrite says is not ADA accessible. The event information does not describe access at the First Kindergarten or Interactive Classroom. No age policy is stated.
Octagon House Holiday Tour Tickets, Multiple dates | Eventbrite ↗ · History for the Holiday Tours | Visit Watertown, Wisconsin ↗
The event is at the Octagon House Museum, 919 Charles Street, Watertown, WI 53094. The event information does not identify a separate entrance or list transit routes; the map links can calculate directions from your starting point.
History for the Holiday Tours | Visit Watertown, Wisconsin ↗ · Octagon House Holiday Tour Tickets, Multiple dates | Eventbrite ↗
Eventbrite says parking for this event is on-street only.
Octagon House Holiday Tour Tickets, Multiple dates | Eventbrite ↗
Yes. Tickets are listed as available online and at the door, but the event page advises buying early in case they sell out.
History for the Holiday Tours | Visit Watertown, Wisconsin ↗ · History for the Holiday Tours | Visit Watertown, Wisconsin ↗
The self-guided visit includes three decorated floors of the Octagon House, the First Kindergarten on the museum grounds and its attached Interactive Classroom.
Octagon House Holiday Tour Tickets, Multiple dates | Eventbrite ↗
Eventbrite says the Octagon House is not ADA accessible. The event information does not specify access at the First Kindergarten or Interactive Classroom.
Octagon House Holiday Tour Tickets, Multiple dates | Eventbrite ↗ · History for the Holiday Tours | Visit Watertown, Wisconsin ↗
919 Charles Street, Watertown, WI 53094
Map search by venue and address. Check the organiser’s entrance details before travelling.
Images from the linked sources. Each caption identifies the context of the image.
Event, planning and background information checked 2026-11-06 against the linked sources.