[Part - 2/3 ] (61 Windsorville Road, East Windsor (Central Valley))

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a complex of three tobacco sheds and two barns. Shed-I is located towards the southern edge of the property with its ridge line running east-west while Shed-II is located in the south-eastern corner of the property with its ridge line running north-south. The semi-subterranean barn, Barn-I can be seen towards the south-west of Shed-I while the third tobacco shed, Shed-III is located towards the north of Barn-I. The ridge lines of both Barn-I and Shed-III run north-south, parallel to each other and almost perpendicular to the road. Barn-II is located towards the south-west of Shed-I, abutting to Chamberlain Road with its ridge line running east-west.

Barn-I: This is a 1 ½- story gable-entry semi-subterranean barn with a gable-roof addition on its south gable-side. The south gable-side of the barn faces Chamberlain road while its ridge line runs north-south, almost perpendicular to the road. The main façade of the barn is the south gable-façade of the gable-roof addition with two main entrances through two pairs of hinged wagon doors with blacksmith hardware. The gable attic above has horizontal siding and a two-pane window just below the apex of the roof. The rest of the façade has cement plastered masonry. The grade level along the two eave-sides of the barn rises towards the north with the eave-lines almost touching the ground.
The barn and the gable-roof addition have asphalt shingle roofing and cement plastered masonry walls with vinyl siding on the gable attics.

Barn-II: This is a 1 ½ - story barn with entries from both the eave-side and the gable-side and another 1 ½-story gable-entry barn attached to its east gable-side. The south eave-side of the barn faces Chamberlain Road with its ridge line running east-west parallel to the road. The main façade of the barn is the west gable-façade with two main entrances towards the south through two double-height over-head garage doors. The façade has a third entrance towards the north through another overhead garage door with a much lower lintel level. The façade has two pairs of two-over-two double-hung sash windows centered in the gable attic above. The south eave-side of the barn has an entrance towards the east through an overhead garage door and two pairs of two-over-two double-hung sash windows towards the west. The south eave-side of the gable-roof addition on the east gable-side of the main barn has an entrance towards the west through a pair of hinged wagon doors. Two pairs of two-over-two double-hung sash windows placed adjacent to each other can be seen above the wagon door entrance. The east gable-side of the gable-roof addition has an entrance at the center through a pair of hinged wagon doors with blacksmith hardware and a louvered vent centered in the gable attic. A hay track can be seen projecting out of the east gable-side just below the apex of the roof.
The wooden frame of the barn is supported on cement plastered masonry foundation. The barn appears to have white painted horizontal siding and asphalt shingle roofing.

Historical significance:

Potato houses or storage barns come in many different shapes and sizes all linked by the common goal of keeping harvested potatoes at a constant temperature and in the dark. The most traditional of these are characterized by a semi-subterranean arrangement.

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 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. 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. In this case the two styles are combined; both a gable entry and an eave entry are used.

Field Notes

A bank barn adjacent to the parking lot of Garder's Nursery. Also see part -1/3 and part - 3/3 http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/20824 http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/34903

Use (Historic)

potato

Use (Present)

unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

Barn
Shed

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

The 49.3 acres property, Map Number - 31 57 028, is a corner plot towards the north of Chamberlain Road and the east of Windsorville Road. The property is located in a predominantly residential area of rural character, separated from the surrounding plots by dense woodland. Residential plots can be seen towards the west of the property across Windsorville Road while parcels of open land can be seen towards the north and the south, across Chamberlain Road.

The property includes three tobacco sheds, Sheds-I, II & III and two barns, Barn-I & II. The circa 1890 colonial main residence is located in the south-western corner of the property surrounded by dense woodland towards its north and the west. The tobacco shed, Shed-I is towards the southern edge of the property with its ridge line running east-west while Shed-II is located in the south-eastern corner of the property with its ridge line running north-south. The semi-subterranean barn, Barn-I can be seen towards the south-west of Shed-I while the third tobacco shed, Shed-III is located towards the north of Barn-I. The ridge lines of both Barn-I and Shed-III run north-south, parallel to each other and almost perpendicular to the road. Barn-II is located towards the south-west of Shed-I, abutting to Chamberlain Road. A 1 ½- story eave-entry gable-roof shed can be seen towards the west of Barn-II. The ridge lines of Barn-II and the shed run east-west parallel to the road. The property has few smaller sheds and outbuildings scattered over the site with parcels of farm land practicing active agriculture towards the east, west and the north.

Building Typology

Materials

Structural System

Roof materials

Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

Gable

Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

12/08/2010

Compiled By

T. Levine and M. Patnaik, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Photographs and field-notes provided by – John E. Harmon

Assessors’ records retrieved on December 8th, 2010 from website http://www.equalitycama.com/

GIS information retrieved on December 8th, 2010 from website http://www.crcog.org/gissearch/

Photograph/Information retrieved on December 8th, 2010 from website http://www.google.com

Information retrieved on December 8th, 2010 from website http://www.zillow.com

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.

Historic Barns of Connecticut

Barn Record East Windsor