326 West Road, New Canaan (Western Coastal Slope)

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 2 ½ -story three-bay eave-entry bank barn towards the south of Woodridge Drive and the west of West Road. The ridge-line of the barn runs east-west almost perpendicular to West Road. The three-bay south eave-side of the barn oriented away from Woodbridge Drive is the main façade with the main entrance centered in the middle bay through a pair of double-height exterior-hung hooded horse-shoe track braced sliding wagon doors. The façade has a second entrance towards the extreme west through a pair of Dutch doors with lintel trim. A double-leaf window with lintel trim and blacksmith hardware can be seen towards the immediate east of the pass-through door. The second floor level of the main south eave-side of the barn has a pair of Z-braced hinged bay doors with blacksmith hardware, centered above the main entrance. The west gable-end of the barn has four six-over-six double-hung sash windows at the first floor level. The second floor level has a pair of hinged hay doors with blacksmith hardware at the center while a six-pane window can be seen towards the north. The gable attic lined by deep soffit is separated from the rest of the gable-end by a distinct girt siding divide line and has a six-over-six double-hung sash window. The east gable-end of the barn has a lower banked grade level which is accessed by two pairs of hinged wagon doors with blacksmith hardware towards the south. A six-over-six double-hung sash window can be seen towards the extreme north. The first floor level of the east gable-end has a six-over-six double-hung sash window towards the north with a gutter pipe running transversely above it. The gable attic lined with cornice board is separated from the rest of the gable-end by a distinct girt siding divide line finished off in ornate saw-tooth detail and has a six-over-six double-hung sash window just below the apex of the roof. The gable roof of the barn has a louvered cupola with a rooster wind vane at the center.

The wood frame of the barn is supported on fieldstone masonry foundation. The post and beam timber frame consists of circular-sawn members with pegged joinery. The barn has asphalt shingles roofing and red painted vertical siding walls with white trim.

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.

The 19th century 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 into 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

This building illustrates how barns were replaced over time. Although associated with the Weed House, constructed c. 1766, this barn was built in 1891 to replace an earlier barn on the property that was probably constructed around the time the house was built. The barn sits on a slope close to Woodridge Drive, a fair distance from the main house. The New Canaan Historical Society has placed a plaque on the house authenticating its construction c. 1766. The barn was constructed in 1891, a fact that was reported in the "New Canaan Nomarch," a local newspaper of that era. A dormer was removed from above the hay-loft doors at some point, and rotten sills were replaced in 1991 (update per Lindstrom 6/27/2014).

Use (Historic)

agriculture

Use (Present)

garage

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

1

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Original Site

Related features

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

The 2.87 acres property, Account Number- 01733 and MBLU number- 0033/ 0208/ 0102/, is a corner plot located towards the west of West Road and the south of Woodridge Drive. The property is located in a pre-dominantly residential area with individual plots separated by woodland, open land and water bodies. Residential plots flank the property towards the east, south, west and the north, across the roads in respective directions.

The barn is located along the northern edge of the property, nearer to Woodridge Drive. The ridge line of the barn runs east-west almost perpendicular to this portion of West Road. The south eave-side of the barn opens into a fenced yard. The circa 1766 main residence of the property is located towards the south of the barn while open land can be seen towards its east. The property is accessed by a driveway from West Road towards the east of the main residence that continues northwards approaching the barn. A second through-driveway from Woodridge Drive around a landscaped area can be seen towards the west of the barn. The property has open land surrounding the main residence while stone masonry boundary wall lined by trees can be seen along the edges.

Building Typology

English Bank

Materials

Structural System

Roof materials

Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

Gable

Approximate Dimensions

25x42 (JS), Barn: 1125 SqFt;

Date Compiled

06/01/2011

Compiled By

T. Levine and M. Patnaik, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs provided by: James Sexton, Lynn Friedman, and Rose Rothbart. Additional field notes provided by Janet Lindstrom, New Canaan Historical Society, 6/27/2014.

Assessors’ information retrieved on June 1st, 2011 from website
http://propertyappraisal.ci.new-canaan.ct.us:8080/login.php

Photograph/Information retrieved on June 1st, 2011 from website http://www.google.com

Photograph/Information retrieved on June 1st, 2011 from website http://www.bing.com.

Photograph/Information retrieved on June 1st, 2011 from website http://www.zillow.com.

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.

Historic Barns of Connecticut

Barn Record New Canaan