Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 1/2-story gable-roofed gable-entry bank barn with a 1-story, shed-roofed addition that extends the full width off its east side. The main facade of the barn faces north and its ridge-line is oriented north-south, perpendicular to this portion of Chestnut Hill Road, which runs approximately east-west. The main entry is a pair of what appear to be interior-sliding doors covered in vertical planks, located in the center of the north gable-end of the barn.  The main entry is flanked by six-over-six, double-hung windows.  Another six-over-six, double-hung window is located in the gable peak, at the attic level.  The north side of the shed-roof addition has a pair of mismatched out-swinging hinged doors in its main level and a hay door at the right (west) corner just under the roofline. The right leaf of the pair has diagonal planking, as does the hay door; the left leaf is finished in horizonal clapboard siding. 

The east side of the addition has four, evenly spaced, one-over-one double-hung windows.  The south side of the addition appears to have a pair of windows located in its center and the grade at the south, gable-end of the barn declines sharply to reveal a basement level with open bays separated by wood posts. It appears that there are two window openings at the first-floor level and one window opening at the attic level of the south gable-end of the barn. 

The grade at the west, eave-side of the barn inclines sharply to the main level.  The right (south) half of the west eave-side of the barn has two, six-pane stable windows and a pass-through door is located in the left (north) half.  The barn has clapboard siding and corner boards, painted gray.  The foundation is fieldstone and the west slope of the roof has asphalt shingles, while the east slope has roll roofing.  The addition is sheathed in vertical siding. The roof on the addition is roll roofing. 

Historical significance:

The New England barn or gable front barn was the successor to the English barn and relied on a gable entry rather than an entry under the eaves. The gable front offered many practical advantages. Roofs drained 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; both types continued to be constructed.

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

Barn sits on the south side of Chestnut Hill Road just before the junction with Breakneck Hill Road. Working farm owned by Labelle family.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• agriculture

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Active Agriculture
• Open Land
• Residential
• Rural
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The barn is located on a 36-acre site on the south side of Chestnut Hill Road, to the east of its intersection with Breakneck Hill Road.  The barn is set back just a few feet from the road. Stone walls and split-rail fences are located within and on the north perimeter of the property. Town assessor’s records indicate that the barn shares an owner with the c. 1850 residence at 571 Chestnut Hill Road, which is located on an 8.80-acre site immediately to the west of the barn.  The area surrounding the site is light residential, open space and woodland, in a lightly populated area east of I-395 and near the border between Connecticut and Rhode Island. 

Parcel ID: 002981

Building Typology

• New England Bank

Materials

• Clapboard
• Fieldstone
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

n/a

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle
• Rolled

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

2080 square feet.

Date Compiled

03/18/2011

Compiled By

J. M. Doherty & T. Levine; reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Michael Green, 11/15/2009.

Town of Killingly Assessor’s Record:
http://killingly.ias-clt.com/parcel.list.php

Town of Killingly GIS Viewer:
http://www.caigisonline.net/killinglyct/

Parcel ID: 002981

Aerial Mapping:
http://maps.google.com accessed 03/18/2011.
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 03/18/2011.

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.