Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a barn complex towards the south of Windsorville Road that includes a tobacco shed, a corn crib towards its south and an L-shaped shed complex towards the south-east of the tobacco shed.

Tobacco shed: This is a 1 ½ - story two-aisle six-bent tobacco shed with a gable-roof addition on its north gable-side. The ridge line of the shed runs north-south perpendicular to the road. The main façade of the shed is its north gable-façade with the main entrance towards the east through a pair of hinged wagon doors with blacksmith hardware and the gable-roof addition towards the west. The gable attic above is separated from the rest of the façade by a distinct girt siding divide line. The tobacco shed is ventilated through the vertical siding on the eave-sides in which every second board is hinged at the top and tilted out at the bottom by means of a horizontal cleat, that lifts several boards at once, and metal prop hooks to hold the boards in place. Similar system for ventilation can also be seen above the lintel level of the main entrance on the main north gable-façade.
The wooden frame of the shed is supported on concrete footings and has asphalt shingle roofing.

Corn crib: This is a 1-story gable-roof gable-entry corn crib towards the south of the tobacco shed. The ridge line of the corn crib runs north-south parallel to the tobacco shed but perpendicular to the road. The north gable-side of the corn crib is its main façade with the main entrance at the center through a hinged pass-through door. The corn crib has slanted side walls with overhanging eaves and is set high above the ground.
The wooden frame of the corn crib has vertical siding walls and asphalt shingle roofing.

L-shaped shed-complex: The L-shaped shed complex is located towards the south-west of the tobacco shed. It comprises of a 1 – story gable-roof shed towards the east and a shed-roof shed towards the west. The main façade of the gable-roof shed is its north gable-façade with the main entrance at the center through a hinged pass-through door. The ridge line of the gable-roof shed runs north-south parallel to the tobacco shed but perpendicular to the road.
The wooden frames of both the sheds are supported on field stone masonry and have vertical siding walls. The gable-roof shed has asphalt shingle roofing while the shed-roof shed has asphalt paper roofing.

Historical significance:

The tobacco barn, or shed as it is called in the Connecticut River Valley, is one of the most distinctive of the single-crop barns. They tend to be long, low windowless buildings with pitched roofs. They are characterized by vented sides to regulate air flow and allow harvested tobacco to cure at the appropriate rate.  Derived initially from the design of the English barn, the shed is composed of a fixed skeleton consisting of two- or three-aisle bents repeated at intervals of 15 feet to the desired length. The wood-framed bents sit on piers of stone or concrete and the bents are connected by girts and diagonal braces. Typically there are two doors at each end, making the shed a “drive-through,” although some sheds are accessed through doors on the sides. The interior structural framework serves a second purpose in addition to supporting the walls and roof of the building; it provides a framework for the rails used to hang the tobacco as it cures.

This is accomplished with one of four different systems (more than one method may be utilized in a single shed):

a) Vertical slats - siding in which every second board is hinged at the top and tilted out at the bottom by means of a horizontal cleat, that lifts several boards at once, and metal prop hooks to hold the boards in place;

b) Side slats - Vertical siding in which alternate boards are hinged along the sides to open like tall narrow doors, each held in place by its own hook;

c) Less commonly, horizontal siding in which alternate boards are hinged along the top edge and open like long narrow awnings; this system may be employed along the lower edge of the wall in conjunction with vertical or side slats;

d) A series of large doors along one of the long sides of the building with the other sides of the building vented by one or more of the other methods.

e) The tobacco sheds can have additional ventilation through side-pivot awning vents on the gable-ends, which co-exist with one or more of the above four systems of ventilation.

In the middle of the 19th century, growing “Indian” corn became popular. Storing the corn on the cob in well-ventilated corn cribs allowed the kernels to dry without spoiling. The distinctively shaped corn crib, with slanted side walls built of spaced wooden slats, became common by the 1860s. The overhanging eaves and slanted walls helped prevent rain from splashing inside. Vertical side walls are also common. Corn cribs are typically set high above the ground on wooden or stone posts.

Field Notes

This is a weathered barn with vertical siding. A corn crib and shed can also be seen on the property. In Windsorville Village.

Use (Historic)

• tobacco

Use (Present)

• garage

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Other
• Shed

Environment features

• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The 4.7 acres property, Map Number - 36 65 011, is towards the south of Windsorville Road, located in a pre-dominantly residential area. Pierce Memorial Park and Windsorville Cemetery can be seen towards the north-west of the property, across the road. The property is flanked by other residential properties towards its east, west and the north while dense woodland can be seen towards the south.

The two arms of the U-shaped property are separated by the residential plots numbered 172 and 174 Windsorville Road. The circa 1850 colonial main residence is located towards the northern edge of the property with the tobacco shed towards its south. A two shed complex comprising of a gable-roof shed and a shed-roof shed can be seen towards the south-east of the tobacco shed. A corn crib is located towards further south of the tobacco shed. The ridge lines of the tobacco shed, the corn crib and the gable-roof shed run north-south, parallel to each other but perpendicular to Windsorville Road. Dense woodland covers the area towards the south of the property.

Building Typology

• New England
• Tobacco Shed

Materials

• Concrete
• Fieldstone
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle
• Other

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

Barn: 800 SqFt, Circa 1850 Shed: 180 SqFt, Circa 1850 Shed: 136 SqFt, Circa 1850 Shed: 120 SqFt, Circa 1850

Date Compiled

12/07/2010

Compiled By

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

Sources

Photographs and field-notes provided by – John E. Harmon

Assessors’ records retrieved on December 7th, 2010 from website http://www.equalitycama.com/ 

GIS information retrieved on December 7th, 2010 from website http://www.crcog.org/gissearch/

Photograph/Information retrieved on December 7th, 2010 from website http://www.google.com

Information retrieved on December 7th, 2010 from website http://www.zillow.com

O’Gorman, James F., Connecticut Valley Vernacular: the Vanishing Landscape and Architecture of the New England Tobacco Fields, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002, 144 pages.

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.