Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½-story eave-entry gable-roofed barn.  The eave-side entry façade faces approximately south and the ridge-line of the barn is perpendicular to this portion of the road. The main entry is an opening that appears to have no doors, and is approached by an above-grade concrete ramp. The flush-board siding surrounding the entry is different from the board-and-batten siding on the remainder of the barn, suggesting that the original entry was larger.  The west bay of the façade has a single fixed four-pane window flanked by single pass-through doors, which have been boarded over, although one of the exterior swinging doors remains attached by one hinge. There is a single pass-through door in the east corner of the façade. 

The west gable-end has a barn door opening in the north corner with an exterior sliding door.  There is also a six-over-six double-hung window high in the south corner, just below the girt line siding divide.  The land slopes down towards the north, revealing a concrete foundation in the north eave-side and east gable-end of the barn.

The north eave-side of the barn has a set of three fixed four-pane windows with shared trim in the west corner and a single interior-swinging pass-through door in the north half, which is approached by steps.  The northeast gable-end of the barn has three small openings evenly spread across the main level, which appear to be boarded over.  Below the girt line siding divide in the east corner there is a double-hung window.  There is also a window opening high in the gable attic. 

The barn has unpainted vertical board-and-batten siding and faded white trim.  The roof is covered with rusting corrugated metal panels. 

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.

Field Notes

Located along the historic main route from Hartford to Willimantic, Norwich, and Providence, this farm was situated on a terrace above the floodplain of the Hop River which provided fertile farmland. 1700's barn owner stated it is an English three bay was moved in 1920's

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Moved

Related features

• Barn
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Rural
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The barn is adjacent to and slightly behind to the northwest, of the house with which it is associated, both located on the south side of the road set back behind an open field.  The ridge-line of the house is perpendicular to the ridge-line of the barn and parallel to the road.  The 1 1/2-story cape style house, built in c. 1952, has a gable roof and a porch on both the northeast eave-façade and at the rear on the southwest eave-side.  The barn is adjacent to the northwest corner of the house.  A driveway from Route 6 runs southwest past the southeast gable-end of the house to the rear of the house and the southeast eave-façade of the barn.  The barn is surrounded by open land scattered with building materials.  Woodlands extend from the southwest gable-side of the barn towards the south and west perimeters of the 12.4 acre property.  The area surrounding the site is rural, woodland and active agriculture.  The site is approximately 1 mile northwest of Andover’s village center.

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Board & Batten
• Concrete
• Flush-board
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Tin

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

1271 square feet

Date Compiled

03/09/2011

Compiled By

L. Mackintosh & T. Levine, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Charlotte Hitchcock & Pamela Brown date 11/09/2010.

Town of Andover Assessor’s Record or GIS Viewer: http://data.visionappraisal.com/AndoverCT/
Parcel ID: 28/ 009/ 000005/ / /

Aerial Mapping:
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 3/9/2011.

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.