Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• Local Historic District
• National Register
• State Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 and 1/2 story gale-roofed bank barn. The gable-end door in the north wall opens onto the right-of-way of the road; the grade slopes down steeply to the south. The south wall is 2 and 1/2 stories tall, with an un-mortared field stone foundation at the lower level. The walls are sheathed with vertical flush board siding. The north elevation has a pair of sliding doors composed of diagonal tongue and groove boards with a single width board hood at the head protecting the track and hardware. The right (west) door panel has two barn sash of six and eight lights, while the left (east) door has a six-light sash and a pass-through door. A four-light sash is mounted high in the gable end, below a hoist arm. The east side has vertical siding in poor condition, some replaced by tongue and groove boards which may be filling a larger opening; a single four panel door opens from a crude deck into the upper level.

A 1990 photograph (#8) from the National Register Nomination shows a shed addition, now demolished, off the east side in the location of this apparent infill. This photograph shows corrugated metal roofing, now replaced by asphalt shingles. An undated photograph, before 1983, in Demers (p. 320) shows the roofing as wood shingles and the shed addition. The west elevation is sided with tongue and groove boards, and has four sash of varying glazing patterns lighting the main and lower levels. An open pasture extends down-slope below the barn. The roof is a pitched gable; some deformation of the ridge line is visible, indicating that there are probably four bents. 

Historical significance:

The New England barn or gable front barn was the successor to the English barn and relies on a gable entry rather than an entry under the eaves. The gable front offers many practical advantages. Roofs drain off the side, rather than flooding the dooryard. With the main drive floor running parallel to the ridge, the size of the barn could be increased to accommodate larger herds by adding additional bays to the rear gable end. Although it was seen by many as an improvement over the earlier side-entry English Barn, the New England barn did not replace its predecessor but rather coexisted with it; barns of both types continued to be constructed.

The 19th century also saw the introduction of a basement under the barn to allow for the easy collection and storage of a winter’s worth of manure from the animals sheltered within the building. The bank barn is characterized by the location of its main floor above grade, either through building on a hillside or by raising the building on a foundation. This innovation, aided by the introduction of windows for light and ventilation, would eventually be joined by the introduction of space to shelter more animals under the main floor of the barn.

The Daniel Glazier Barn is a contributing resource in the Willington Common Historic District; the District National Register Nomination identifies the barn as a 19th century structure. Demers indicates a date before 1812 (p. 320).

Field Notes

n/a

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Original Site

Related features

• Other

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Scattered Buildings

Relationship to surroundings

The Daniel Glazier Barn is located on the south side of Tolland Turnpike, a busy main road running east-west, and across the street from the Daniel Glazier House (1810) and the adjacent Daniel Glazier Tavern (1815). Immediately to the east, the Willington Common lies along the north side of Tolland Turnpike. Behind the Daniel Glazier Barn, an open field slopes down to the south. The farmstead stands at the gateway to the Willington Common, which was the 18th- and 19th-century center of the village of Willington Hill, one of a half dozen scattered village centers in the town of Willington.

Building Typology

• New England Bank

Materials

• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Post & Beam
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

12/01/2009

Compiled By

Charlotte Hitchcock, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Photographs by Charlotte Hitchcock, Ellie Lowell

Town of Willington Assessor’s Record Map/Lot: 23/015-00.

Demers, Ronald F., Modernization in a New England Town: A History of Willington, Connecticut, Willington Historical Society, 1983, W. Willington CT, 431 pp.

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.

Willington Common National Register Historic District Nomination, #90001911, 12/18/1990.

Local Historic District - Willington Common Historic District, 1981.

Cunningham, Jan, Willington Common National Register Historic District Nomination No. 90001911, National Park Service, 1990.