Barn Record Southbury

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Building Name (Common)
Octagon Barn
Building Name (Historic)
Octagon Barn
Address
1208 Main Street North (Rte 6), Southbury
Typology
Overview

Designations

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a tall 1-story octagonal bank barn. The roof is an octagonal hip with a cupola on the peak. The site is generally level with a gentle up-slope toward the east, and the barn is built over a basement level which is exposed at grade on the south and north sides. The west and east sides have earthen ramps, with un-mortared fieldstone retaining walls, leading up to the main level, where there is a pair of tall exterior sliding doors in both sides. A shallow hood with wood molding covers the door hardware on the west side.

The southwest side has two six-pane stable windows with trim in the basement level; the main level wall is blank. The south side has a pair of exterior sliding doors with a six-pane fixed window in each leaf; the main level is blank. The southeast side has a triangular addition with a low-pitch shed roof; its south side wall is flush with the south face of the barn and has a two-over-two double-hung window with trim. In the main level of the southeast side there is a six-pane stable window close to the right (east) corner.

The east side has the pair of sliding doors opening to the ramped upper grade. A 1-story gable-roofed addition has been constructed which is attached at the north jamb of the doors, necessitating that both leaves slide toward the left (south). The northeast side is covered by the addition. The north side has from left (east) to right at the basement level a twelve-pane stable window, a pass-through door, and a six-pane stable window. The main level is blank. The northwest side has exposed mortared fieldstone foundation wall exposed and a blank main level.

The long and narrow gable-roofed addition extends east from the octagonal barn. The south eave-side has, from left (west) to right, a single door with iron strap hinges, a six-pane stable window, two Dutch stall doors, some with iron strap hinges, two six-pane stable windows, another Dutch stall door. A diagonal joint in the siding suggests that this may have been an open wagon shed, later converted to horse stalls. A horseshoe is hung above each of the four doors. A shed addition extends the width of the east gable-end. The south end wall of the shed has another stable door and a six-pane window at the right (east) corner. The north side of the addition has a fieldstone foundation wall exposed for a height of about six feet, and a blank wall at the main level. The addition exhibits substantial deformation in its south side.

Siding is vertical flush-boards. The roof has a deep overhang on the eight sides of the octagon, and is asphalt shingles. The cupola is octagonal and has a louvered opening on each face. Its roof is a shallow-pitched octagonal hip, with a wooden mast at the peak as for a weathervane.


Historical significance:

Round and multisided barns are characterized by having a footprint other than the traditional rectangular one.  While one of the earliest polygonal barns is associated with our first president (and dated 1796) neither polygonal or round barns ever captured the imagination of American farmers, even though they were repeatedly touted as being the most efficient shape for the job.  There is a belief that the round barn was based off the “prayer circles” of certain religious sects such as the Shakers, the Quakers and the Holy Rollers.  The Shaker community of Hancock, Massachusetts, pioneered the round barn design in New England in 1826 with their Round Stone Barn. 

Most surviving round and multisided barns in New England, however, were built on dairy farms during the early 1900s.  These later examples function similarly to high-drive barns.  A covered ramp leads to the top-story hayloft, cows are stabled in stanchions on the middle level, and manure storage is in the basement.  In the center of some early-twentieth century round barns is an ecnlosed wooden silo for storing fodder, while other round barns use the center for hay storage.

The 19th century saw the introduction of the Gentleman’s barn. While many farmers were striving for efficiency to compete with farms in the middle of the country, a new type of farmstead appeared in Connecticut: the gentleman’s farm. These barns were frequently designed by famous architects and were part of giant complexes that combined the luxury of a weekend retreat with the grit of a working farm.

In the late 19th century as New England farms felt competition and labor shortages due to the shift of agriculture to the mid-west, designs for model barns with labor-saving inventions and innovative layouts, were shared through agricultural journals and were constructed on model farms, often subsidized by wealthy owners as demonstration projects.

Field Notes

Barns Grant Recipient 2011 House date: 1750. Source: Southbury Assessor’s Records. The house is in Southbury, but the barn (1875) is located in Woodbury.

Use & Accessibility

Use (Historic)

Use (Present)


Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Environment

Related features

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

This property of just over 5 acres is located on the east side of Main Street North (US Route 6) straddling the town line between Southbury, to the south, and Woodbury, to the north. The barn appears to be in Woodbury, the house in Southbury. Both towns have established historic districts which include the properties as far as their town line. The landscape consists of the remnants of historic farms with some open fields, areas of woodland, and 19th- and 20th-century houses on large lots. The road is a busy route with car and truck traffic but remains 2-lane. To the west is the Pomeraug River and beyond it a quarrying operation.

The house is a 1 ½-story gambrel-roofed structure which appears to have been built as a 5-bay center-chimney with an extension of two bays added on the south end. An open porch on the 1st floor is below the upper floor space. A 2 ½-story gable-roofed ell projects eastward off the northeast corner toward the rear of the house. The house is surrounded by lawns and scattered trees. A garage is located east of the barn, and a tennis court is located east of the house. A long driveway extends from the road to the north of the house and south of the barn, winding through trees to a smaller secondary house. A small brook runs past the property, looping around the north boundary.

Typology & Materials

Building Typology

Materials


Structural System

Roof materials


Roof type


Approximate Dimensions

1912 square feet

Source

Date Compiled

06/22/2011

Compiled By

Charlotte Hitchcock, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Charlotte Hitchcock date 01/15/2009.

Town of Southbury Assessor’s Record   http://www.prophecyone.us/fieldcard.php?property_id=2185358
Parcel ID: 33-21-3   4/9 acres, barn 1890 1912 s.f., House 1750

Town of Woodbury Assessor’s Record
http://www.equalitycama.com/tvweb/Details.aspx?city=Woodbury&uid=83100
Parcel ID: 084-039   .35 acres

Aerial Mapping:
http://maps.google.com
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 6/22/2011.

Babbitt, Susan, Woodbury Historic District Number 2 Nomination No. 72001326, National Park Service, 1972.

Luyster, Constance, Southbury Historic District Number 1 Nomination No. 71000917, National Park Service, 1970.

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.

Local Historic District - Southbury Historic District No. 1, 1967.

PhotosClick on image to view full file