Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a complex of three tobacco sheds and two barns. Shed-I is located towards the southern edge of the property with its ridge line running east-west while Shed-II is located in the south-eastern corner of the property with its ridge line running north-south. The semi-subterranean barn, Barn-I can be seen towards the south-west of Shed-I while the third tobacco shed, Shed-III is located towards the north of Barn-I. The ridge lines of both Barn-I and Shed-III run north-south, parallel to each other and almost perpendicular to the road. Barn-II is located towards the south-west of Shed-I, abutting to Chamberlain Road with its ridge line running east-west.

Shed-I: This is a 1 ½ - story gable-entry two-aisle tobacco shed that appears to be fifteen-bent. The south eave-side of the shed faces Chamberlain Road while its ridge line runs east-west parallel to the road. The main façade of the shed is its west gable-façade with two main entrances through two pairs of hinged wagon doors with blacksmith hardware. The gable attic above is separated from the rest of the façade by a distinct girt siding divide line and appears to have a side-pivot awning window just below the apex of the roof. 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.
The wooden frame of the tobacco shed is supported on concrete footings and has asphalt shingle 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.

Field Notes

Tobacco shed visible from parking lot of Gardner's Nursery. Shed is on Chamberlain Rd but address of nursery is 77 Windsorville Rd. Also see part 12/3 and part 3/3 - http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/20831 http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/34903

Use (Historic)

• tobacco

Use (Present)

• unknown

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Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Shed

Environment features

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

Relationship to surroundings

The 49.3 acres property, Map Number - 31 57 028, is a corner plot towards the north of Chamberlain Road and the east of Windsorville Road. The property is located in a predominantly residential area of rural character, separated from the surrounding plots by dense woodland. Residential plots can be seen towards the west of the property across Windsorville Road while parcels of open land can be seen towards the north and the south, across Chamberlain Road.

The property includes three tobacco sheds, Sheds-I, II & III and two barns, Barn-I & II. The circa 1890 colonial main residence is located in the south-western corner of the property surrounded by dense woodland towards its north and the west. The tobacco shed, Shed-I is towards the southern edge of the property with its ridge line running east-west while Shed-II is located in the south-eastern corner of the property with its ridge line running north-south. The semi-subterranean barn, Barn-I can be seen towards the south-west of Shed-I while the third tobacco shed, Shed-III is located towards the north of Barn-I. The ridge lines of both Barn-I and Shed-III run north-south, parallel to each other and almost perpendicular to the road. Barn-II is located towards the south-west of Shed-I, abutting to Chamberlain Road. A 1 ½- story eave-entry gable-roof shed can be seen towards the west of Barn-II. The ridge lines of Barn-II and the shed run east-west parallel to the road. The property has few smaller sheds and outbuildings scattered over the site with parcels of farm land practicing active agriculture towards the east, west and the north.

Building Typology

• Tobacco Shed

Materials

• Concrete
• Vertical Siding

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Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

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Roof type

• Gable

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Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

12/08/2010

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 8th, 2010 from website http://www.equalitycama.com/ 

GIS information retrieved on December 8th, 2010 from website http://www.crcog.org/gissearch/

Photograph/Information retrieved on December 8th, 2010 from website http://www.google.com

Information retrieved on December 8th, 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.