Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 1/2-story gable-entry bank barn with two gable-roof additions.  The main facade faces west towards Old Springfield Road, which runs approximately north-south. The ridge-line is perpendicular to Old Springfield Road.  The main entry is found centered on the west gable-end of the barn and consists of a bay-wide exterior sliding door, with the opening on the southern side of the facade. Above the opening is a transom window that is now boarded. Midway between the apex of the roof and the dropped girt line siding divide is a hay door opening. Attached to the south corner of the west gable-facade are two connected gable-roof additions with their gables facing towards the street. One appears to be a milk room. The north eave-side of the barn has no apparent openings. The grade drops along the east eave-side of the barn, revealing a basement level.  Below grade on the east gable-end of the barn is a pair of windows on the north side with a pass-through door just south of them. To the south of the door is an exterior sliding door with another pass-through door just south of the sliding door. The only other opening on this facade is midway between the apex of the roof and the dropped girt line siding divide, which has a hay door opening similar to the opposite gable.  There appears to be a lean-to extending under the saltbox roof on the south eave-facade.  All of the siding under grade appears to be board and batten, while the rest of the barn has vertical flush-board siding, painted tan.  The roof has a projecting eave overhang with simple brackets, and is clad in asphalt shingles.

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. The 19th century also saw the introduction of a basement under the barn to allow for the easy collection and storage of a winter’s worth of manure from the animals sheltered within the building. The bank barn is characterized by the location of its main floor above grade, either through building on a hillside or by raising the building on a foundation. This innovation, aided by the introduction of windows for light and ventilation, would eventually be joined by the introduction of space to shelter more animals under the main floor of the barn.

Field Notes

n/a

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• workspace

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Other

Environment features

• Residential
• Scattered Buildings

Relationship to surroundings

This barn sits on 47.75 acres of land and is to the east of the house with which it is associated.  There are two other structures on this property, a gable-roof building to the northeast of the house and a flat-roof building to the northwest of the house.  Two tennis courts are found to the southeast of the house.  There appears to be a carport to the south of the barn.  Also part of the property is Spring Valley Lake and beach, which sits directly to the northeast of the house.  The main facade of the house faces west with the ridge-line running parallel with Old Springfield Road. This property is to the northwest of the center of West Stafford and the intersection of Old Springfield Road and Chestnut Mountain Road.  To the north of the property are a few open tracts of land and woodland.  To the south are woodland, Broadway Pond and some open tracts of land.  To the east are Bradway Pond, Orcutts Pond and woodland.  To the west is woodland.  Surrounding this property are light residential areas, a few open tracts of land, bodies of water and woodland.

Building Typology

• New England Bank

Materials

• Board & Batten
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Post & Beam
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Saltbox

Approximate Dimensions

45' x 40' for the main structure and 50' x 24' for the saltbox addition

Date Compiled

01/21/2010

Compiled By

Todd Levine, reviewed by the Connecticut Trust

Sources

Photographs by P. Portier: 08/26/2009.

Aerial Mapping: Stafford Maps
http://www.bing.com - accessed 6/30/2011.

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.

Carley, Rachel, The Visual Dictionary of American Domestic Architecture, Henry Holt & Co. Inc., New York, 1994.

Town of Stafford Assessors office: Deed Book #0135, Deed Page #0584.