Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural Description:

This is a 1 ½ story three-bay eave-entry barn with two shed-roof additions, one on each of its gable-facades. The southern eave-façade of the barn faces Winthrop Road (Route 80) with its ridge-line running east-west parallel to the road. The main façade of the barn is the three-bay southern eave-façade with the main entrance in the middle bay through a pair of hinged double-height wagon doors with a lintel trim. The barn has two secondary entrances, one each on either side bay, through an exterior-hung hooded sliding wagon door. The sliding wagon door towards the east is separated from the main entrance by a three-pane vertical stable window and has a hinged weather-door insert. The southern side-walls of the shed-roof additions on the gable-façades of the barn can be seen flush with the main southern eave-façade. The southern side-wall of the shed-roof addition towards the west has an entrance at the center through an exterior-hung hooded sliding wagon door. The southern side-wall of the shed-roof addition towards the east on the façade has a garage door off-centered towards the west. Board and batten siding can be seen on the wall above the garage-door. This shed-roof addition appears to have been extended towards the east of the garage door with exposed brick masonry. The western gable façade of the barn has the shed-roof addition at the first floor level and a two-pane window centered on the gable attic. The barn has a water-tower towards the south-west corner of the shed-roof addition on its western gable-façade. 
The wooden frame of the barn has metal roofing and red painted vertical siding walls. The wooden frame of the shed-roof addition on the western gable-façade of the barn has asphalt roofing and vertical siding walls. Board and battened siding and brick masonry can be seen on the shed-roof addition on the eastern gable-façade of the barn.

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

- English barn with shed additions - paced off at appoximately 40' long - property recently had cows - road on south side of barn - pic 01 = southwest corner - pic 02 = west end - pic 03 = south side - pic 04 = outbuildings behind house [Source: Sara and Bruce Dodson]

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Shed

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The property is towards the north of Winthrop Road (Route 80) with a white fencing around it. A patch of farmland can be seen abutting the property towards the north.  Cockaponset State Forest surrounds the property towards the east, north and south. Star Lake can be seen towards further north-east and Tower Hill Lake is situated across Route 80 towards the south-west.

The barn is towards the west of the property with the farmhouse towards its east and dense vegetation towards its west. The white fence of the property can be seen immediately towards the north of the barn. The barn has a water-tower towards the south-west corner of the shed-roof addition on its western gable-façade. Two gable-roof out-buildings can be seen towards the north of the barn and the farmhouse.

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Board & Batten
• Brick
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle
• Metal

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

Main barn is approx. 40' in leagth

Date Compiled

07/14/2010

Compiled By

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

Sources

Photographs and information provided by –
Sara and Bruce Dodson, sgdodson@hotmail.com

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.