Historic Significance
Architectural description:
This is a 1 1/2-story, eave-entry, tripartite barn with a hip-roofed wagon-shed addition. The main facade faces south towards Selden Road, which runs approximately east-west. The main entry is a pair of swinging hinged doors in the easternmost bay of the facade. To the west of the entry is a six-pane window with trim. Centered in the south gable-facade is a set of three six-over-six double-hung windows. The west bay has an identical set of three six-over-six double-hung windows. Centered above the middle bay windows is a hay-door. Above the hay-door in a gable-dormer is a hay-track.
The west gable-facade has a pass-through door centered in the main level, flanked by a set of three six-over-six double-hung windows. Above in the gable attic of the facade is a fanlight with trim. The north eave-facade has three four-pane windows with trim in the main level; two in the westernmost bay and one in the middle bay. The grade drops sharply at the corner of the facade, revealing a ramp that leads to a pair of swinging hinged doors in the basement level in the westernmost bay. The ramp is flanked by retaining walls on either side. The rest of the facade is blank on the main level and mortared field-stone foundation in the basement level.
Extending east from the east gable-facade of the main barn is a hip-roofed wagon-shed addition. A series of three pairs of swinging hinged doors line the south eave-facade of the addition. The north eave-facade is blank. Above the addition in the gable attic of the main barn is a fanlight. Connected to the southeast corner of the addition is a gable-roofed shed with its ridge-line perpendicular to the main barn.
The barn and addition are clad in vertical flush-board siding painted white. the roof has asphalt shingles and a projecting overhang. Atop the roof is a louvered wood cupola with a weathervane.
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.
Distinguished by the long shed or gable roof and the row of bays along the eave side, the typical wagon shed was often built as a separate structure or as a wing connected to the farmhouse or the barn. These structures protect farm vehicles and equipment from the weather and provide shelter for doing small repairs and maintenance.
Field Notes
This building demonstrates one of the pitfalls of barn research: it is difficult to tell from the exterior whether a building is on its original site.