Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½-story side- or eave-entry barn with a gable-roof addition. The main facade faces southeast and the ridge-line runs perpendicular to Durham Road, which runs approximately northwest-southeast. There is no one main entrance, as the main southeast eave-side has three doors.  Towards the north corner is a modern roller garage door with a band of four windows on it. Towards the south corner is an identical modern roller garage door with a band of four windows. Immediately south of this is a pass-through door. At the second-story level there are exterior tracks, though no doors. Attached on the southwest gable-end is a 1 1/2-story addition that is flush with the main barn on the southeast eave-side and extends beyond the northwest eave-side. The southeast eave-side of the addition has two evenly-spaced modern roller garage doors each with a band of twelve windows. The southwest gable-end of the addition has three evenly-spaced six-over-six-pane windows on the first story and a window in the gable attic. There is a window in the gable attic of the main barn on the southwest gable-end. The northwest eave-side of the addition is blank. The northwest eave-side of the main barn has a pair of double-height sliding doors with exterior tracks, most likely the original entry. The northeast gable-end of the main barn has three evenly-spaced six-pane windows on the first story and a six-pane window in the gable attic. The barn has vertical flush-boards painted red with white trim. The roof has a projecting overhang and is covered with asphalt shingles. The foundation is concrete block.

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

The barn is part of a retail nursery. Associated with a farmhouse built c. 1905.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• retail

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Other

Environment features

• Commercial
• Residential
• Rural
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The barn is located northwest on the c. 1905 house it is associated with. The ridge-line of the house runs parallel to the ridge-line of the barn. A parking lot is located between the house and the barn. A small one-story barn is located on the southwest side of the parking lot, south of the main barn and north of the house. The ridge-line of the small barn runs perpendicular to that of the main barn. A greenhouse is connected to the southeast gable-end of the small barn. A second greenhouse is located south of the house. The total size of the site is 1.13 acres. The surrounding area is residential and woodlands.

Parcel ID: 091050B.

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Concrete Block
• Flush-board
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

Approximately 1875 sq. ft.

Date Compiled

02/19/2011

Compiled By

B. Bjorklund & T. Levine, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Ellie Green and Ralph Schoemann, 06/29/2010

Town of Guilford Assessor’s Record or GIS Viewer:  http://www.guilfordgis.com/detail.asp?parid=091050B
Parcel ID: 091050B

Aerial Mapping:
http://maps.google.com accessed 02/19/2011
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 02/19/2011

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 (Hanover: University Press of New England, 1997), 61.