Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural Description:

This is a 2 1/2- story multi-bay gable-entry barn with its main east gable-façade facing East Road. The bays towards the east appear to be later additions to the original three-bay barn. The ridge line of the barn runs east-west perpendicular to the road. The main entrance to the barn is centered on the main east gable-façade through a pair of double-height 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 has a pair of hinged hay doors just below the apex of the roof which projects out to form the hay hood.  The first three-bays from the west on the north eave-side of the barn have wood shingles while the rest of the eave-side has vertical siding. The three-bays from the west on the north eave-side of the barn have six equally spaced stable windows at the first floor level and three pairs of six-over-six double-hung sash windows equally spaced at the second floor level.

The wooden frame of the barn is supported on concrete footings and has metal roofing. The original portion of the barn towards the west has wood shingles while the rest of the barn has vertical siding.

Historical Significance:

The New England barn or gable front barn was the successor to the English barn and relies on a gable entry rather than an entry under the eaves. The gable front offers many practical advantages. Roofs drain off the side, rather than flooding the dooryard. With the main drive floor running parallel to the ridge, the size of the barn could be increased to accommodate larger herds by adding additional bays to the rear gable end. Although it was seen by many as an improvement over the earlier side-entry English Barn, the New England barn did not replace its predecessor but rather coexisted with it, as both types continued to be built.

Field Notes

New England barn with small overhang above the door

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

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Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Shed

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Rural
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The 1.79 acres property, Map number – 27 57 016 -04, is situated towards the West of East Road in a pre-dominantly residential area of rural character. Residential plots can be seen towards the south of the property while parcels of open land with active agriculture can be seen towards the north and the east, across East Road. Dense woodland can be seen towards the west of the property.

The barn is located towards the western edge of the property with the circa 1868 colonial main residence towards the south-east, nearer to East Road. A 1 ½  – story gable-roof shed can be seen towards the south of the barn. The ridge lines of both the barn and the shed runs east-west perpendicular to East Road. The barn is accessed by a drive way from the east while dense woodland can be seen towards the west.

Building Typology

• New England

Materials

• Concrete
• Vertical Siding
• Wood Shingle

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Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Metal

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Roof type

• Gable

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Approximate Dimensions

Barn: 2088 SqFt, Circa 1920 Shed: 1584 SqFt, Circa 1940

Date Compiled

11/05/2010

Compiled By

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

Sources

Field Notes provided by John Harmon

Assessors’ records retrieved on November 5th , 2010 from website http://www.equalitycama.com/ 

GIS information retrieved on November 5th, 2010 from website http://www.crcog.org/gissearch/

Photograph/Information retrieved on November 5th, 2010 from website http://www.google.com

Information retrieved on November 5th, 2010 from website http://www.zillow.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.