Clover Nook Farm (50 Fairwood Road, Bethany (Western Uplands))

Designations

State Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

There are two barns on the property on either side of Fairwood Road. Barn I is situated north of the house with which it is associated on the east side of Fairwood Rood. Barn II sits directly across from the house on the west side of Fairwood Road.

Barn I: This is a 2-story, ground-level stable barn with a two shed-roof additions. The main facade faces north and the ridge-line of the barn is parallel to this portion of Fairwood Raod, which runs approximately north-south. The main entry appears to be a garage door in the east side of the shed-roof addition attached to the north gable-facade of the barn. The shed-roof addition has four fixed, eight-pane windows on the west side of its north eave-side. A pair of now-covered windows are found in the center of the gable attic of the barn above the shed-roof addition. The west eave-side has a row of eighteen six-pane windows and a pass-through door in the far north end. There are two hay doors in the upper register at intervals dividing the west eave-side roughly into thirds. The west wall of the shed-roof addition to the north gable-facade is fenestrated with four fixed eight-pane windows and a small louvered vent just beneath the roof-line at the point of attachment with the barn. The south gable-side of the barn has a pass-through door in its west side. Above it on the far west end of the south gable-side is a hay door. There are two fixed, two-pane windows divided vertically centered in the gable attic. A shed-roof addition is attached to the east eave-side of the barn set back slightly from the south gable-side of the barn. Its south wall has a row of three six-pane windows. There is a large silo in the northeast corner between the shed-roof additions. The barn has vertical siding painted red. The gable attics are off set in white along with the muntins of the windows. The roof is covered with asphalt shingles. The foundation appears to be made of concrete.

Barn II: This appears to be a 1 1/2-story, eave-entry horse barn with a gable-roof addition. The main facade faces west and the ridge-line of the barn is parallel to this portion of Fairwood Road, which runs north-south. The main entry is an open bay with a beveled lintel line roughly centered in the west eave-facade of the barn. A hay door is situated directly above the entry beneath the eaves. There are three slightly irregular windows, a single window to the north and two stacked vertically near the north jamb of the entry, in the north bay of the east eave-facade. The south bay is slightly narrower and has an open entry directly adjacent to the main entry and a single fixed, six-pane window with trim above it. The gable-roof addition is attached to the south gable-side of the barn. Its east eave wall of the gable-roof addition is flush with the east eave-facade of the barn. It has what appears to be an exterior sliding door in the far south side which opens to the north over an expanse of wall with a fixed, six-pane window. Another fixed, six-pane window with tree is centered in the upper register directly beneath the eaves. The south gable side of the addition is blank except for a window in the gable attic. The north gable-side of the barn has a pair of two fixed, six-pane windows in the center and a third window near the east end. An hay opening, which may have an interior door, sits beneath the gable attic. The roof has a significant projecting overhang. A gable-roof cupola with a horse weather-vane rises out of the asphalt-shingled roof. It has a six-over-six double-hung window on its east side. The window, if not the entire cupola, is either new or heavily restored. There is a contrast between the new paint of the cupola and the old paint of the square, pedestal-like base, upon which it sits. The barn has vertical siding painted red with white trim around the window and door openings and the corner post strips.

Historical significance:

By the early 20th century agricultural engineers developed a new approach to dairy barn design: the ground-level stable barn, to reduce the spread of tuberculosis bacteria by improving ventilation, lighting, and reducing the airborne dust of manure. A concrete slab typically serves as the floor for the cow stables. Many farmers converted manure basements in older barns into ground-level stables with concrete floors. Some older barns were jacked up and set on new first stories to allow sufficient headroom. With the stables occupying the entire first story, the space above serves a a hayloft. By the 1920s most ground-level stable barns were being constructed with lightweight balloon frames using two-by-fours or two-by-sixes for most of the timbers. Novelty or tongue-and-groove beveled siding is common on the walls, although asbestos cement shingles also were a popular sheathing. Some barns have concrete for the first-story walls, either poured in place or built up out of blocks. The gambrel roof design was universally accepted as it enclosed a much greater volume than a gable roof did, and its shape could be formed with trusses. Also see entry for Pole Barn.

Field Notes

Listed on the State Register of Historic Places 11/06/2013. A sign outside of the farmhouse states the farm dates to 1765. The "Bethany's Old Houses and Community Buildings" book dates this house to 1825. The farm had remained in the same family at the time the book was written in 1972. Active agriculture, selling pumpkins and seasonal produce. The house was built in 1825. There are three field cards which are related. For the survey I have included only 1 and 2. 1) 50 Fairwood Road, 2.84-acres includes house and 3 outbuildings, SANDELL DUDLEY RECOVABLE TRUST CONCBLK/FRAME BARN 1940 1365 FRAME BARN 1900 1846 LQ SHED SHED 1900 384 2) 51 Fairwood Road, 17.97 acres, CLOVER NOOK FARM LLC, FRAME GARAGE 1935 665 FRAME BARN 1935 1080 3) 60 Fairwood Road, 39.24 acres of vacant land, SANDELL MARION W

Use (Historic)

agriculture

Use (Present)

agriculture

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

1

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Original Site

Related features

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

The farm house and three outbuildings, including Barn I, lie on a 2.84-acre lot on the east side of Fairwood Road, which runs roughly north-south. Another two outbuildings, including Barn II, and two greenhouses lie on a 17.97-acre lot on the west side of Fairwood Road. Barn I is north of the house with which it is associated. The ridge-line of the house is perpendicular to the ridge-line of the barn. Both house and Barn I front Fairwood Road. Stone walls line the north and south borders of the property, and an additional two stone walls run parallel to them behind the house and barn. The enclosed area to the north of the barn is used as a pasture for cows. The house has two gable-roof additions followed by a single-story hip-roof addition to its rear, east gable-side. There is a wrap-around porch on the west gable-side and south eave-side of the house and shed-roof additions to the north eave-side of the house and its additions. A gable-roof shed is set at a right angle to Barn I near the silo at the northeast corner of the barn. There is an enclosed pen and a small equipment shed on its south eave-side. The driveway enters the property between the house and Barn I and leads to an unpaved parking area at the rear of the house where it makes a U-shaped turn. Two gable-roof sheds of low pitch sit at the rear of the property between the interior stone walls. The enclosed area to the south consists of a yard on the south eave-side of the house and a plowed field at the rear of the property. Barn II sits directly across from the house. The ridge-line of Barn II is perpendicular to the ridge-line of the house. A three-bay garage is aligned with Barn II to the south along Fairwood Road. There are two greenhouses aligned side-by-side with the west side of the garage along with a large area covered with black tarpaulin. There is a plowed field enclosed by stone walls on the far north end of the property. A farm road runs parallel to the stone wall at the north gable-side of the barn. A cluster of diminutive sheds is found on the south side of the road near its entrance. A diminutive gable-roof shed sits at the far end of the north eave-side of the barn. The southwest corner of the property is defined by stone walls and a line of trees, which surround plowed fields. A strip of land extending to the west in the middle of the property has a plowed field, followed by rough terrain and woodland. The area surrounding the site is rural, agriculture, residential, open space and woodland.

Maps: 112/109B, 112/12, 111/109

Building Typology

Materials

Structural System

Wood Frame

Roof materials

Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

01/14/2011

Compiled By

Amy Prescher & Todd Levine, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Photographs and field notes by Melissa Antonelli, C. Hitchcock.

Map of Bethany, CT, retrieved on January 14, 2011 from website
http://bing.com/maps/

Map of Bethany, CT, retrieved on January 14, 2011 from website http://maps.google.com/

eQuality Valuation Servies, LLC Database
http://www.prophecyone.us/fieldcard.php?property_id=1827516

Bunton, Alice Bice, Bethany’s Old Houses and Community Buildings, Bethany Library Association, 1972.

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 Bethany