Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• Local Historic District
• National Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

Barn I:

The hewn frame and lack of ridgepole suggests an early date for this barn, which was possibly during the Bacon ownership in the first half of the 19th century. Archival photographs of the property show tobacco fields to the west, suggesting this outbuilding was a tobacco barn. In more recent years the south end was used for repairing cars. The north end has been remodeled as a pool house. The large barn located behind the Old Town Hall at 7 South Street, next door, was originally attached to the south end of this structure.

The barn stands on the west side of South Street and to the southwest of the 1784 house on this property. Features include: 32 x 20; peak-roofed barn stands with gable ends oriented to the north and south; fieldstone foundation; slightly banked to the west; elongated horizontal profile; primary elevation fronts east to road; two sets exterior roller doors on east elevation; two 6-pane windows light north gable; single window on south gable; hewn post-and-beam frame; log rafters; red paint.

Barn II:

This structure once served as an ice house and was located a few yards to the south. It was moved to the present site when the current owners renovated it to hold a hot tub. Because the framing members are no longer visible it is difficult to attach a date to the building. Features include: 12 x 12; peak-roofed building stands with gable ends oriented to the north and south; primary elevation located at south gable end; hinged doors centered under 6-pane window; vertical tongue-and-groove barn board.

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 use of ice for refrigeration became popular in New England by the middle of the 19th century, especially as farmers shifted to dairy production. The small farm buildings used to store ice through the summer can usually be recognized by their thick insulated walls and few windows. Early examples have low ventilators on the roof.  Ice was packed in straw or the walls were built double with an air space of up to 18 inches, as insulation. Icehouses continued to be used until electrical refrigeration was installed during the 1930s and 1940s.

Field Notes

Information from a survey of Roxbury by Rachel Carley. This homestead originated as the home of Asahel Bacon, son of the prominent Woodbury merchant, Jabez Bacon. The house, built in 1784, passed through several generations of Bacons before being sold in 1850 to George Hurlburt (1809-1904), who owned a hat shop on Wellers Bridge Road and later served as postmaster. Located in the Roxbury Center National Register and Local Historic District.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

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Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Moved

Related features

• Barn
• Shed

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

n/a

Building Typology

• English
• Other Shed

Materials

• Vertical Siding

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Structural System

n/a

Roof materials

---

Roof type

• Gable

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Approximate Dimensions

Barn I: 32 x 20, Barn II: 12 x 12.

Date Compiled

08/05/2011

Compiled By

Rachel D. Carley - KY

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.