Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 1/2 story, tripartite, eave-entry barn with later additions; two shed-roofed additions and a able-roofed addition. The main facade faces west and the ridge-line of the barn is parallel to this portion of Hebron Road, which runs approximately north-south. The main entry in the west eave-facade is an exterior sliding door in the middle of three bays; the flanking bays are blank. The track extends into the south bay. The south gable-side of the barn has a window in the gable attic. The grade appears to decline slightly towards the east. Encompassing the entire east eave-side of the barn is a shed-roofed addition. Encompassing the north gable-side of the barn, except for the gable attic, is a shed-roofed addition. A replacement one-over-one double hung window is centered in the gable attic. The west side of the north addition has an open bay used as a garage. Extending west from the northeast corner of the barn is a gable-roofed addition. The gable-roofed addition is wedged in between the two shed-roofed additions, extending further east than the east eave-side shed-roofed addition. The barn is clad in vertical flush-board painted red. The roof has a projecting overhang and is covered with asphalt shingles.

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

Old pegged post and beam barn on working vegetable and fruit farm with long views of Eastern Connecticut.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• agriculture

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Other
• Shed

Environment features

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

Relationship to surroundings

The barn is behind and to the east of the house it is associated with. The ridge-line of the house is parallel to the ridge-line of the barn. To the south of the house, extending from Hebron Road, is a driveway that leads to the barn and continues past the barn to the fields on the east. Between the house and the barn, to the south of the driveway, is a five-bay garage. Directly behind the barn to the east is a gable-roofed strcuture with three double-sized bays. The bays are open to the south. To the north and south of this 7.17 acre lot are tracks of open space. A track of open space to the east ends with some woodland and a small body of water. Across Hebron Road to the west is woodland. The area surrounding the site is open space, residential and woodland. A cemetery is just north of the site. Listed in the assessors card is the following outbuildings: Concrete Block/Frame Garage, Metal Barn, Frame Barn, Low Quality Shed, Average Shed Shed.

Map/Block/Lot 00021 00005 00002

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Flush-board
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Post & Beam
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

10/01/2010

Compiled By

Todd Levine, reviewed by the Connecticut Trust

Sources

Photographs and field notes by Jim Pendergrast: jimjudyct@sbcglobal.net

The Capitol Region Council of Governments website. http://www.crcog.org/gissearch/

Map of Bolton, CT, retrieved on October 1, 2010 from website www.zillow.com.

eQuality Valuation Services, LLC Database. http://www.equalitycama.com/tvweb/MainSearch.aspx?city=Bolton

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.