Barn Record Monroe

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Building Name (Common)
Shelton Family Farm - Part 1 of 3
Building Name (Historic)
William Shelton Family Farm
Address
96 Barn Hill Road, Monroe
Typology
Overview

Designations

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a multi-unit barn complex towards the south of Barn Hill Road. The complex comprises of an eave-entry bank barn complex, Barn-I towards the south with its ridge line running east-west parallel to the road. An eave-entry gable-roof shed, Shed-I, with a gable-roof addition on its west gable-end is located towards the immediate northeast of Barn-I. The ridge line of Shed-I also runs east-west with the southwest edge of its gable-roof addition on the west gable-end abutting to the northeast edge of Barn-I. An eave-entry barn with the cupola, Barn-II is located towards the northeast of Barn-II while an eave-entry gable-roof shed, Shed-II is located towards the northwest, opposite to Barn-II. The ridge lines of both Barn-II and Shed-II run north-south parallel to each other but perpendicular to the road. The complex includes a third eave-entry barn, Barn-III located towards the northeast of Barn-II with its ridge line running almost north-south. Shed-III is located towards the northeast of Shed-II with its ridge line running east-west. The following is the description of Barn-I and Shed-I while Barn-II & Shed-II are discussed in http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/2385 and Barn-III & Shed-III are discussed in http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/41324.

Barn-I: This is a multi-unit barn complex comprising of a 1 ½- story five-bay eave-entry bank barn with a gable-roof addition towards the west on its south eave-side and a shed-roof addition on its east gable-end. The south side-wall of the shed-roof addition on the east gable-end of the barn has another shed-roof addition overlapping the south eave-side of the main barn. The five-bay north eave-side of the barn facing the road is the main façade with the main entrance centered in the middle bay through a pair of exterior-hung double-height X-braced sliding wagon doors. The façade has a second entrance in the first bay from the east through a pair of exterior-hung X-braced hooded sliding wagon doors with a hinged hay door positioned above it. The grade level along the north eave-façade of the barn drops towards the west to form the bank along the west gable-end and the south eave-side. The loose earth along the drop line is retained by field stone masonry foundation. The west gable-end of the barn has an entrance at the bank level off-centered towards the north through an exterior-hung hooded sliding pass-through door flanked by a square window towards its north and a multi-pane window towards the south. The first floor level of the west gable-end has two six-pane windows with the gable attic separated by a distinct dropped girt siding divide line. The gable attic is lined by fascia board and has a similar six-pane window just below the apex of the roof. The west eave-side of the gable-roof addition on the south eave-side of the main barn is flush with the west gable-end at the bank level and has a six-pane window towards the north and a square window opening towards the south. A hinged hay door can be seen on the west eave-side of the gable-roof addition centered above the window opening towards the south. The south gable-end of the gable-roof addition has two window openings and a similar window opening centered in the gable attic. The bank level of the south eave-side of the barn has an entrance towards the east through an exterior-hung sliding pass-through door flanked by a square window opening towards the west. Another square window can be seen centered above the pass-through door while few other windows can be seen towards the west. The south side-wall of the shed-roof addition on the east gable-end of the barn is flush with the south eave-side of the main barn. The south eave-side of the shed-roof addition on the south side-wall overlaps the south eave-side of the main barn with its eave-level lined by projecting rafter tails. 

The wooden frame of the barn complex is supported on field stone masonry. The barn complex has asphalt shingle roofing and light grey painted vertical siding walls.

Shed-I: This is a 1 ½ - story eave-entry gable-roof shed with a gable-roof addition off-centered towards the south. The ridge lines of both the main shed and the gable-roof addition run east-west almost parallel to this portion of Barn Hill Road. The north eave-side of the Shed-I facing the road is the main façade with the main entrance at the center through a hinged pass-through door with a hinged hay door centered above it. The west gable-end of the shed has the gable-roof addition off-centered towards the south and ha window opening centered in the gable attic. The west gable-end of the gable-roof addition has an entrance at the center through a pass-through door flanked by a square window towards the north. The southwest edge of the gable-roof addition abuts to the northeast edge of Barn-I. The east gable-end of Shed-I has a single-pane square window insert at the first floor level and a similar single-pane window just below the apex of the roof.

The wooden frame of Shed-I has asphalt shingle roofing and light grey painted vertical siding.

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.
The 19th century 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 into 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

This farm has five barns. The original barn circa 1823 (Barn I - gray) is English style post & beam construction with vertical siding and asphalt roof shingles, was used as a dairy barn. In addition to the main barn is a small barn (Barn II - gray) attached to the north east end of the main barn, an implement shed (Barn III - red), a small roadside sales barn where they sell their seasonal vegetables and a more recent barn (Barn IV - red) with windowed cupola. All the barns are English style. This farm was a part of the original Shelton Family farm and reaches to Shelton Road (Route 110). Also see - Part - 2/3 : http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/2385 Part - 3/3 : http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/41324

Use & Accessibility

Use (Historic)

Use (Present)


Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

No

Location Integrity

Unknown

Environment

Related features

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

The 11 acres property, Account number – 07706600 and Map-Block-Lot number - 077 066 00, is located towards the south of Barn Hill Road and the north of Shelton Road. It is situated in a predominantly residential area of rural character, bordering the town limits of Monroe and Shelton, with individual plots separated by woodland and parcels of open land. Residential plots flank the property towards the north-east, west and the north, across Barn Hill Road while dense woodland covers the area towards the east. 

The circa 1799 colonial main residence of the property is almost centered along the northern edge of the property abutting to Barn Hill Road while multi-unit barn complex and the sheds area scattered towards its south and the east. The barn complex comprises of an eave-entry bank barn complex, Barn-I towards the south with its ridge line running east-west parallel to the road. An eave-entry shed gable-roof shed, Shed-I, with a gable-roof addition on its west gable-end is located towards the immediate northeast of Barn-I. The ridge line of Shed-I also runs east-west with the southwest edge of its gable-roof addition on the west gable-end abutting to the northeast edge of Barn-I. An eave-entry barn with the cupola, Barn-II is located towards the northeast of Barn-II while an eave-entry gable-roof shed, Shed-II is located towards the northwest, opposite to Barn-II. The ridge lines of both Barn-II and Shed-II run north-south parallel to each other but perpendicular to the road. The complex includes a third eave-entry barn, Barn-III located towards the northeast of Barn-II with its ridge line running almost north-south. Shed-III is located towards the northeast of Shed-II with its ridge line running east-west. A 1 ½- story garage is located towards the immediate west of the main residence while a pool is positioned towards the south. The property is accessed by a driveway towards the east of the main residence that continues south to Shelton Road dividing the plot longitudinally, with the edges of the two halves demarcated by stone masonry boundary wall. The property has farm land with active agriculture towards the south of the building complex. 

Typology & Materials

Building Typology

Materials


Structural System

Roof materials


Roof type


Approximate Dimensions

Barn: 26 X 52 Sqft, Circa 1825;Barn: 24 X 60 Sqft, Circa 1825;Shed: 18 X 35 Sqft, Circa 1825;Shed: 12 X 24 Sqft, Circa 1825;Shed: 18 X 45 Sqft, Circa 1825;Garage: 16 X 32 Sqft, Circa 1996;Pool: 21 X 22 Sqft, Circa 1999;

Source

Date Compiled

05/04/2011

Compiled By

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

Sources

Field notes and photographs provided by: Lee Hossler, 03/04/2011.

Additional photographs provided by Todd Levine.

Assessors’ records retrieved on May 4th , 2011 from website http://monroe.univers-clt.com/ .

Assessors’ maps retrieved on May 4th, 2011 from website http://www.monroect.org/ . 

Photograph/Information retrieved on May 4th, 2011 from website http://www.google.com

Photograph/Information retrieved on March 29th, 2011 from website http://www.bing.com.

Photograph/Information retrieved on May 4th, 2011 from website http://www.zillow.com.

Donohue, Mary, McCain, Diana Ross, Historic & Architectural Resource Survey of Monroe CT, Connecticut Historical Commission, 2002.

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