Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• National Register
• State Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This barn probably dates from the era of Smith ownership of this historic property. The barn, probably for cows and hay and possibly workhorses, has undergone a sensitive renovation for use as an architects’ office and the antiques shop that is housed on the ground floor.

The building is located on the west side of Southbury Road near Church Street, slightly setback, with a small parking area in front. The c. 1796 house on this corner property stands just to the north. Features include: 32 x 24, 24 x 24; peak-roofed barn stands with gable ends oriented to the north and south; structure comprises two parts; larger, main section stands to the south, slightly lower wing telescopes from north gable end; primary elevation faces east; fieldstone foundation; varied fenestration and entry treatments and rolling doors, most or all part of renovation; post-and-beam; vertical tongue-and-groove barn board, brown paint with white trim.

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

Information from a survey of Roxbury by Rachel Carley. Phineas Smith (1759-1839) built the house and an office (9 Southbury Road), where he laid out plans for the c. 1830 Oxford Turnpike (Rte. 67/Southbury Road). “Smith’s Corner” passed out of family hands in the mid-1800s. Located in the Roxbury Center National Register.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

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Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

n/a

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

n/a

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Fieldstone
• Vertical Siding

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Structural System

• Post & Beam

Roof materials

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Roof type

• Gable

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Approximate Dimensions

32 x 24, 24 x 24

Date Compiled

06/30/2011

Compiled By

Rachel D. Carley - CH

Sources

Carley, Rachel D., Barn Stories from Roxbury Connecticut, Roxbury Historic District Commission/Town of Roxbury/CT Commission on Culture & Tourism, 2010.

Cunningham, Jan, Roxbury, A Historic and Architectural Survey, Roxbury Historic District Commission, 1996-97.

Plummer, Dale S., Roxbury Center National Register Historic District Nomination No. 83001271, National Park Service, 1983.

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

The Roxbury Historic District Commission, Roxbury Past & Present: A Survey of the Evolution of Roxbury Center’s Historic District and Walking Tour, 2007.

Visser, Thomas D.,Field Guide to New England Barns and Farm Buildings, University Press of New England, 1997, 213 pages.