Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• Local Historic District
• National Register
• State Historic Resource Inventory
• State Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1-½ story gable-entry barn.  The main façade faces north and the ridgeline runs north-south, perpendicular to School Street which lies to the north. Principal entry is provided by a pair of hinged doors constructed of vertical wood boards.  Above the door is a flared hood, and a hinged hay door that is also constructed of vertical boards with wrought iron hardware.  On the west eave-side are three two-pane stable windows with trim.  On the south gable-end is a pair of hinged hay doors with a flared hood and a hay loft door, both identical to those found on the main façade.  On the east eave-side there are four two-pane stable windows with trim, a pass-through door, and what appears to be a hinged hay-loft door on the southeast corner.  The exterior walls are covered with painted vertical board siding.  The roof is covered with what appears to be wood shingles.  The foundation appears to be constructed of un-mortared fieldstone.

Historical significance:

The New England barn or gable front barn was the successor to the English barn and relies on a gable entry rather than an entry under the eaves. The gable front offers many practical advantages.  Roofs drain off the side, rather than flooding the dooryard. With the main drive floor running parallel to the ridge, the size of the barn could be increased to accommodate larger herds by adding additional bays to the rear gable end. Although it was seen by many as an improvement over the earlier side-entry English Barn, the New England barn did not replace its predecessor but rather coexisted with it, as both types continued to be built.

Historical background:

“The Woodbury Historic District is a residential community bounded by open fields and woods. It has a variety of Colonial and Federal houses within it and includes a number of Greek Revival and Victorian buildings as well.

The Woodbury Historic district is significant because its architecture and historic sites embody the history of the area since the seventeenth century. Nearly every type of house from the time of settlement to 1828 can be found in the area and it has some interesting Victorian houses as well.”

Field Notes

House date: 1741-88. Located in Woodbury North Historic District No. 1.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

No

Demolished

No

Location Integrity

Original Site

Related features

n/a

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Rural
• Scattered Buildings
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

This property is located on South Main Street in the Town of Woodbury in a historic residential and commercial area that has been nationally recognized for its significance.  The barn is located on a 0.65-acre parcel that also includes a 19th century house with Georgian detailing.

The main house lies to the southeast of the barn.  Its main façade faces southeast and the ridgeline runs southwest-northeast, parallel to Main Street South.  It is a 2-½-story eave-entry structure with a rectangular plan, 5-bays, and a gable roof.  The main entrance, a wood paneled door with a decorative crown supported by pilasters, is in the center of the façade and also features a transom light with five-panes.  Flanking both sides of the door are two twelve-over-twelve double-hung sash windows with trim.  There are five identical windows on the 2nd story of the main façade.  The exterior walls are covered in painted clapboard siding and the roof is covered with wood-shingles.  There is a large brick chimney with corbelling in the center of the roof at the apex of the gable.

Building Typology

• New England

Materials

• Flush-board
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Wood Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

02/28/2011

Compiled By

E. Reisman & T. Levine; reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Charlotte R. Hitchcock - 1/19/2009.

Town of Woodbury, Connecticut GIS Viewer:  http://www.cogcnvgis.com/woodbury/AGS_MAP (Parcel ID: 105-117:  0.65 acres: 19th-century house, 2,074 sq. ft.)

Aerial Mapping:
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 02/27/2011.

Luyster, Constance, Woodbury North National Register District Nomination No. 71000908, National Park Service, 1971.

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.

“Woodbury: a Townscape,” Tony Wrenn, 1975, Preservation Press, Washington, D.C.

Local Historic District - Woodbury Historic District #1.