Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a rectangular-footprint, two-story chicken coop (building 1) constructed in three attached blocks.  The structure is oriented from northwest to southeast, with the primary façade facing southwest, and aligned perpendicular to River Road.  The roof is flat and slopes gently from front to back.  It is comprised of two similar and symmetrical adjacent portions,
with a smaller addition on the east end of the structure.

The two primary blocks consist of a total of four glass-paned access doors on each floor, set symmetrically on the façade, and each bracketed by three window openings.  The doors each feature twelve panes of glass, and the windows each have six panes of glass.  A few of the window openings have been boarded up and much of the window glass is missing.  The addition on the east end features four window openings, two on each story, aligned vertically and also having the six-pane arrangement.  Both stories are identical.  The southeast side is blank except for two blank pass-through doors, aligned vertically, slightly off-center.  Both are hinged and appear to open outward.  The northeast side appears to have four vertical pairs of small windows on the two identical sections of the building, likely also with the same six-pane window arrangement.  The east end addition portion appears to be blank on this side.  The northwest side appears to have a single pass-through door on the first floor only.

A pent roof is present on the southwest side along the two main sections of the structure only – it does not exist on the east-side addition.  The exterior is primarily covered in horizontal wooden siding.  The east wall of the east-side addition is clad in green hexagonal shaped asphalt shingling.  The remainder of the exterior may once have been painted a deep green, but it has weathered significantly. 

A small 1-story outbuilding (building 1a) exists just to the south of the chicken coop.  It has a gable roof and is perpendicular to River Road.  It appears to have sheet metal roofing and the walls are concrete block masonry.  A centered pass-through door is present on the south elevation, flanked by two window openings to each side, the outer two of which have been boarded over.  The remaining two window openings have double hung windows within, each single pane.  The door includes six panes of glass.  The east side includes a wooden hinged pass-through door at the south side; the remainder of this side is blank.  The two remaining sides are not easily visible.

Historical significance:

Poultry farming grew in popularity during the second half of the 19th century, and by the early 20th century most farms had small chicken coops. These lightly-built structures often feature a gabled or shed roof and large windows on the south side. Often chicken coops have a small stove and chimney for heat to protect young chicks during cold weather. Small openings near the ground provide the fowl with access to the yard. Inside are nesting boxes for the laying hens.

During the 1930s and 1940s, poultry farming was adopted by many farmers in New England as a replacement for dairy farming.

By the 1930s, large two-and three-story poultry barns were being built for raising broilers and capons for meat and pullets for eggs. These often have a shallow-pitched gable or shed roof and many windows on the south side, which are often covered with wire mesh. Mineral-surfaced asphalt paper or shingles typically cover the roof and walls. Housing thousands of birds, these large structures became virtual factories, with automatic, clock-activated feeders and waterers to reduce labor.

Field Notes

Dilapidated chicken coop 1 (2 story) and out-building 1a.

Use (Historic)

• poultry

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

n/a

Environment features

• Active Agriculture
• Open Land
• Rural
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

Environmental Information:

The chicken coop (building 1) is roughly perpendicular to River Road.  The main dwelling associated with this coop is immediately to the east of the coop, roughly halfway between the coop and the road.  A garage is located just to the northeast of the coop.  The coop and dwelling are separated by a gravel and grass driveway and parking area.  The land immediately to the south and southeast of the coop is active agriculture.  The land to the southwest and west of the coop is mixed woodland and open land, and two small ponds are also present.  Beyond the rear of the property to the west is a single track railroad line owned by New England Central Railroad.  Beyond the railroad track is a wooded area and Interstate highway 84.  North and northeast of the coop is an area of swampland with mixed coniferous and deciduous trees.  The outbuilding (building 1a) is located just to the south of the chicken coop, between the coop and the agricultural field.

Building Typology

• Chicken Coop

Materials

• Asphalt Siding
• Clapboard

Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Rolled

Roof type

• Flat

Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

01/01/2011

Compiled By

N. Nietering & T. Levine, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Photographs by Fannie Young and Paul Schur.

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, 213 pages.

Map of Willington, CT, retrieved on December 30, 2010 from website www.bing.com.

Willington Assessor’s Records - Vision Appraisal online - http://data.visionappraisal.com/WillingtonCT