Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½ - story three-bay gable-entry bank barn with a gable-roof addition on its south eave-side encompassing the first bay from the east. The ridge line of the main barn runs east-west almost perpendicular to this portion of Old Post Road while that of the gable roof addition runs north-south. The east gable-end of the barn flush with the east eave-side of the gable-roof addition faces the road and is the main façade. The main entrance to the barn centered in the main facade is through a double-height wagon door entrance which appears to be sliding on interior tracks. A sixteen-pane horizontal transom window with trim can be seen centered above the main entrance. The façade has a second entrance towards the immediate south of the main entrance through a hinged pass-through door with trim. Two six-pane windows with trim can be seen on the façade, one each towards either side. The gable attic lined by deep soffit has a six-over-six double-hung sash window at the center. The east eave-side of the gable-roof addition flush with the main east gable-façade has an entrance at the center through an exterior-hung sliding wagon door with diagonal boards. The grade level beyond the east eave-side of the gable-roof addition drops towards the west to form the bank along its south gable-end, the west eave-side and the south eave-side of the main barn. The loose earth along the drop line is retained by un-coursed un-mortared field stone masonry. The bank level of the south gable-end of the gable-roof addition is recessed with the upper corners chamfered at an angle of forty-five degree. The bank level has a pass-through door entrance towards the west and a cement plastered pier towards the east. The gable attic of the south gable-end of the gable-roof addition has a six-pane window with trim just below the apex of the roof. The bank level of the west eave-side of the gable-roof addition has an entrance towards the south through an open bay with the upper corners chamfered at an angle of forty-five degree while three six-pane windows with trim can be seen equally spaced at the first floor level. The bank level of the south eave-side of the main barn has an entrance towards the extreme west through a Z-braced exterior-hung sliding pass-through door while two six-pane windows with trim can be seen at the first floor level. The grade level along the west gable-end of the main barn gradually rises towards the north to access an entrance at the center through a double-height exterior-hung sliding wagon door with diagonal boards. A sixteen-pane horizontal transom window can be seen above the double-height entrance while a six-over-six double-hung sash window is positioned just below the apex of the roof. The elevated grade level gradually declines towards the north of the entrance along the mortared field stone masonry foundation of the barn which has a six-pane window insert towards the south. The grade level along the three-bay north eave-side of the main barn gradually rises towards the east along the mortared field stone masonry foundation which has two six-pane windows towards the west. The first floor level of the three-bay north eave-side of the barn has the name of the property-‘CNC SOFTWARE’,displayed towards the extreme east.

The wooden frame of the main barn is supported on mortared field stone masonry foundation while that of the gable-roof addition is supported on un-coursed un-mortared field stone masonry foundation. Both the main barn and the gable-roof addition have asphalt shingles roofing and red painted board-and-batten walls with white trim. 

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.

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.

Field Notes

southwest side of road, red barn 100 years old

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Garden
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Industrial
• Open Land
• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The 24.48 acres property, Account Number- 408 and MBLU number- 19/ B/ 28/00 / /, is located towards the west of Old Post Road. The property is located in a mixed land use area with both residential and industrial units. Residential plots can be seen towards the north and the south along the road while farm houses with farm land can be seen towards the east, across Old Post Road. Industrial units are located towards the west of the plot while the area towards the southeast is covered by dense woodland.

The barn is located along the eastern edge of the property abutting to Old Post Road. The ridge line of the barn runs almost north-south, parallel to this portion of the road. The circa 1999 office building is located towards the south of the barn, almost at the center of the property. The property is accessed by a driveway towards the north of the barn that continues south approaching the main office complex. The property has parcels of open land with the edges defined by stone boundary walls.

Building Typology

• New England Bank

Materials

• Board & Batten
• Fieldstone

Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

Barn: 1672 SqFt; Barn: 480 SqFt; Gazebo: 120 SqFt;

Date Compiled

05/26/2011

Compiled By

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

Sources

Field notes provided by: Carol and Alan Lyons, 08/27/2010.

Assessors’ information retrieved on May 26th, 2011 from website http://data.visionappraisal.com/TollandCT/

GIS Map retrieved on May 26th, 2011 from website http://hosting.tighebond.com/tollandct/main.htm

Photograph/Information retrieved on May 26th, 2011 from website http://www.google.com

Photograph/Information retrieved on May 26th, 2011 from website http://www.bing.com.

Photograph/Information retrieved on May 26th, 2011 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.