This tall hexagonal building, constructed of concrete grout and covered with plaster, is nationally significant not because of its unusual shape and construction, but because of its ante-bellum usage. Built as a hotel, it and the nearby log Goodrich Cabin served as stops on the Underground Railroad. Fugitive slaves could enter the cabin, open a trapdoor, and make their way through a tunnel to the Milton House, where the Goodrich family provided food, shelter, and assistance to reach their next stop on their way to Canada and freedom. This property illustrates the westward spread of abolition and its transformation from a moral to a political issue. Joseph Goodrich, who moved from New York state to Wisconsin, founded Milton and was proprietor of the hotel, was one of many who brought the reform movement and its ideals westward.

Information provided by the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Park Service.