Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• Local Historic District
• National Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1-1/2 story eave-entry apple barn with a gable roof with a shed-roof addition. The ridge-line of the barn runs east-west. The barn is at grade on level ground. The main south eave-façade of the barn has the main entry, which is a wide, side-hinged swinging door with wrought iron hardware towards the west corner. Towards the east corner of the south eave-façade of the barn is a beveled pass-through door with wrought iron hardware. Encompassing the entire width of the east gable-end of the barn is a shed-roof addition, with its sides flush with the eave-sides of the barn. On the south and north sides of the addition are square windows with trim, one on each side, off center to the east. Centered on the east side of the addition is a Dutch door, flanked by two evenly spaced small square windows with trim. The gable attic above the shed is blank. Towards the east corner of the north eave-façade of the barn is a beveled pass-through door with wrought iron hardware. Centered on the north eave-side of the barn is a pass-through door with wrought iron hardware. Centered in the gable atiic of the north gable-end of the barn is a side swinging hay door with wrought iron hardware.

The walls are red vertical board siding, but the attic level east gable end is made of horizontally arranged unpainted wood shingles.  The roof is clad with asphalt shingles. The barn contains a pair of historic wood and metal cider presses and a nutcracker.

Historical significance:

With new developments in storage methods, fruit production was no longer seasonal. The first technological improvement was the use of controlled temperature and humidity to store fruit after the harvest. For example, a warehouse for this purpose was built in 1926 at Rogers Orchards in Southington. A more modern storage plant, utilizing an oxygen reduction atmosphere to retard ripening, was constructed [at Rogers Orchards] in 1984. Following the harvest, the building is sealed and the oxygen content is reduced to three percent.

Historical background:

The barn is located to northwest with its west gable end facing River Street where boats used to tie up at high tide to load cider. The barn is in the Guilford Town Center National Register Historic District and may be a contributing property. Nothing was found on the partly scanned on-line nomination form.

Field Notes

Early 19th century cider mill Red Post and Beam structure with Vertical Siding and Asphalt Roof Sperry has bequeathed the mill to the Guilford Preservation Alliance with the goal to open it to the public. The barn is located in an open pasture of unusually large size for its location in the heart of Guilford's village historic district. The house faces south onto Broad Street with a garage and shed/wagon shed located to the north (painted white) and a larger barn located to the northwest at the western edge of the pasture with its gable-end along River Street. Schooners formerly floated up at high tide and loaded apple cider directly across the street. 2011 Barns Grant Recipient. Located in Guilford Town Center Historic District, and appears to be a contributing resource within the district.

Use (Historic)

• apple

Use (Present)

• storage

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Garage
• Garden
• Other
• Shed
• Shop

Environment features

• High Density
• Residential

Relationship to surroundings

The barn is on the west edge of an open pasture of unusually large size for its location in the heart of Guilford’s village historic district. The west gable end faces River Street. The house is east and south of the barn with its main ridge line running parallel to the ridge line of the barn. The house faces south onto Broad Street. Behind and to the north of the house is a garden and trellis. A garage and shed/wagon shed located to the north (painted white), which is roughly southeast to the barn. West of the house is a driveway that starts at Broad Street and stretches north to end at the garage. Fencing outlines the western, northern, eastern, and southern perimeter of the 2.9 acre property. Woodland outlines the property border between 22 Broad Street and the corner property of 6 Broad Street. The area around the site is residential, suburban, river front, open land, and woodland.

Building Typology

• English
• Mill

Materials

• Flush-board
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Post & Beam

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

02/21/2011

Compiled By

J. Toner & T. Levine, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Dempsey Fitton, C. Hitchcock on 08/10/2008.

Town of Guilford Assessor’s Record and GIS Viewer http://wwwguilfordgis.com.
Parcel ID: 039015

Aerial Mapping:
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 02/21/2011.

Raiche, Stephen, Guilford Historic Town Center National Register District Nomination No. 76001988, National Park Service, 1976.

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.