Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½ - story gable-entry barn with full basement and a gable-roof addition on its east gable-end. The ridge line of the barn runs east-west, parallel to this portion of Chamberlain Road, but perpendicular to Windsorville Road. The north eave-side of the barn faces Chamberlain Road while the west gable-end faces Windsorville Road. The east gable-end of the barn is the main façade with the gable-roof addition towards the south and the main entrance towards the north through a hinged pass-through door accessed by wooden steps. The façade has a brick chimney off-centered towards the north. The gable attic is separated from the rest of the façade by a distinct dropped girt siding divide line and has a square window opening just below the apex of the roof. A two-over-two double-hung sash window can be seen in the gable attic, north of the brick chimney. The south eave-side of the barn has a system of ventilation through the vertical 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. The cement plastered masonry wall of the basement has a series of equally spaced two-over-two double-hung sash windows along the grade level. The west gable-end of the barn has four two-over-two double-hung sash windows equally spaced at the first floor level with the gable attic separated by a distinct dropped girt siding divide line. The gable attic is lined by projecting rafter tails and has two similar two-over-two double hung sash windows. The west gable-end has a margin of exposed cement plastered masonry foundation along the grade level punctuated by six two-over-two double-hung sash windows. The west gable end of the barn is adorned by metal motifs of sun, flower pots, fairies, etc.

The wooden frame of the barn is supported on cement plastered masonry foundation wall. The barn has vertical siding walls and asphalt shingle roofing.

Historical significance:

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.

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.

Field Notes

Converted tobacco shed with windows on both gables and one eave-side.

Use (Historic)

• tobacco

Use (Present)

• re-use

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Other

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Rural
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The 101 acres property, Map Number - 31 60 001, is a corner plot towards the east of Windsorville Road and the south of Chamberlain Road. The property is located in a pre-dominantly residential area of rural character. Farm land with barns and tobacco sheds can be seen towards the north of the property, across Chamberlain Road while residential plots can be seen towards the west and the east, across Windsorville Road. The area towards the south of the property is covered by dense woodland.

The barn is located in the northwest corner of the property with its ridge line running east-west, parallel to this portion of Chamberlain Road, but perpendicular to Windsorville Road. The property includes parcels of farmland towards the north while the area towards the south is covered by dense woodland. The plot includes two water bodies: one towards the south-east of the barn and the other towards far southeast.

Building Typology

• Tobacco Shed

Materials

• Brick
• Concrete
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

Barn: 3008 SqFt, Circa 1850 Shed: 264 SqFt, Circa 1950

Date Compiled

06/08/2010

Compiled By

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

Sources

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

Additional photographs by Todd Levine.

Assessors’ records retrieved on February 15th, 2011 from website http://www.equalitycama.com/ 

GIS information retrieved on February 15th, 2011 from website http://www.crcog.org/gissearch/

Photograph/Information retrieved on February 15th, 2011 from website http://www.google.com

Information retrieved on February 15th, 2011 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.