Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural Description:

This is a 1 ½ story barn with entries from both the eave-side and the gable-side. The western gable-façade of the barn faces Bozrah Street with the ridge-line running east-west perpendicular to the road. The southern eave-façade of the barn is the main façade with the original main entrance towards the west through an exterior- hung sliding wagon door which is boarded. The boarded main entrance has two pairs of hinged door inserts with grey-painted chamfered frames. The main southern eave-façade of the barn also has two over-head garage doors towards the east which have a higher lintel level than the main entrance towards the west. The façade has board and batten siding above the garage doors. The western gable-façade of the barn has an exterior-hung sliding door towards the south which is boarded with a pass-through door insert. The pass-through door has a grey-painted chamfered frame similar to those on the main southern eave-façade. A nine-over-six double-hung sash window can be seen towards the north of the façade. The façade has a distinct dropped girt siding divide line separating the gable attic above which has a similar double-hung sash window just below the apex of the roof with the window-panes no longer in place. The northern eave-façade of the barn has a pair of double-pane square windows towards the west and a shed roof addition towards the east. The northern eave-façade of the barn has board and batten siding above a horizontal trim at the level of the lintel of the western gable-façade. The shed-roof addition towards the east is supported on concrete foundation and has asphalt shingle roofing that continues on the northern eave-façade of the main barn, stopping just below the eave-line.
The wooden frame of the barn has yellow painted vertical siding and board & batten walls while the shed-roof addition has vertical siding walls. Both the barn and the shed-roof addition have asphalt shingle roofing.

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 entrances on the main southern eave-facade of the barn suggest a possible use of the barn as a carriage house.

Until the 1830s, the horses used for riding and driving carriages were often kept in the main barn along with the other farm animals. By the 1850s, some New England farmers built separate horse stables and carriage houses. Early carriage houses were built just to shelter a carriage and perhaps a sleigh, but no horses. The pre-cursor to the twentieth-century garage, these outbuildings are distinguished by their large hinged doors, few windows, and proximity to the dooryard. The combined horse stable and carriage house continued to be a common farm building through the second half of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, until automobiles became common. Elaborate carriage houses were also associated with gentlemen farms and country estates of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Another form of carriage barn, the urban livery stable, served the needs of tradespeople.

Field Notes

Dimen: 60 ft X 40ft Envir: commercial Related features: stone walls Mater: concrete, vertical siding Roof mater: asphalt shingle Roof type: Gambrel Form: unknown Post and beam frame, scribe rule

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn

Environment features

• Active Agriculture
• Commercial
• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The property is a corner plot towards the east of Bozrah Street and Gager Road forming its edge towards the south. It is situated in mixed-use area surrounded by other residential and commercial plots. Dense woodland can be seen towards the north-east of the property and Fitchville Pond towards further north.

The barn is towards the north-east of the property with a driveway towards its south. Another 2 ½ story gable-roof barn can be seen towards the north-west of the barn which has a gable-roof addition on its eastern gable-façade and a shed-roof addition on its western gable-façade. The open land of the property towards the south of the barns has a line of trees along its southern edge and western edge.

Building Typology

• Carriage House
• New England

Materials

• Board & Batten
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

60ft X 40ft

Date Compiled

07/20/2010

Compiled By

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

Sources

Photographs and field notes provided by – Susan Ververis

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.