Barn Record Easton

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Building Name (Common)
n/a
Building Name (Historic)
n/a
Address
640 Black Rock Turnpike, Easton
Typology
Overview

Designations

Historic Significance

Architectural Description:

This is a 1 ½-story side- or eave-entry barn with a pair of evenly spaced gabled wall dormers on the main eave-facade, which has five bays. The first bay, in the far left (north) corner, has a two-over-two double-hung window. The main entry is in the second bay and has a pair of full-height exterior sliding doors centered below the first gabled wall dormer. In the third bay is a a two-over-two double-hung window. In the fourth bay, centered below the second gabled wall dormer, is a pair of exterior sliding doors with a sliding haymow door centered above. There is a fixed nine-pane window in the fifth (south) bay. Centered beneath the apex of each gabled wall dormer is an ocular window opening. The south gable-end has a pass-through door centered on the first floor. To the left of the pass-through door is a fixed twelve-pane window and to the right is a fixed twenty-four-pane window. Above the siding divide in the attic-gable is an ocular window opening. The sliding doors and the hay doors have X braces. The barn has vertical siding that is painted red with white trim, a mortared fieldstone foundation, and a shingled roof.


Historical Significance:

The oldest barns still found in the state are called the “English Barn,” “side-entry barn,” “eave entry,” or a 30 x 40. They are simple buildings with rectangular plan, pitched gable roof, and a door or doors located on one or both of the eave sides of the building based on the grain warehouses of the English colonists’ homeland. The name “30 by 40” originates from its size (in feet), which was large enough for 1 family and could service about 100 acres. The multi-purpose use of the English barn is reflected by the building’s construction in three distinct bays - one for each use. The middle bay was used for threshing, which is separating the seed from the stalk in wheat and oat by beating the stalks with a flail. The flanking bays would be for animals and hay storage.

Field Notes

Listed on the State Register of Historic Places, June 2013. This barn demonstrates how large the English barn became in this area, even though constructing a New England barn, with a single runway from one end to other, seems more logical (and was being touted in the agricultural press). It is also interesting that major timbers for frames were still being hewn at this late date. Note: commentary by James Sexton, no citation given for date.

Use & Accessibility

Use (Historic)

Use (Present)


Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Environment

Related features

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

The building is set back from the road, behind the house with which it is associated.

Typology & Materials

Building Typology

Materials


Structural System

Roof materials


Roof type


Approximate Dimensions

70 x 30 feet

Source

Date Compiled

05/03/2010

Compiled By

T. Levine and S. Lessard, reviewed by CT Trust.

Sources

Photographs by James Sexton 11/13/2006, Charlotte Hitchcock 12/07/2012

Sexton, James, PhD, Survey Narrative of the Connecticut Barn, Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, Hamden, CT, 2005, http://www.connecticutbarns.org/history.

Visser, Thomas D.,Field Guide to New England Barns and Farm Buildings, University Press of New England,1997.

PhotosClick on image to view full file