Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a three tobacco shed complex towards the north of Wapping road with Shed-I towards the eastern edge of the property and Shed-II towards the west. Shed-III is located in the western most area of the property, which is separated from the rest of the plot by railway tracks. The building complex also includes the dilapidated frames of two tobacco sheds, Shed- A and Shed-B, which are located almost at the center of the property with Shed-A towards the west and Shed-B towards its north-east.

Shed-II: This is a 1 ½ - story three-aisle fifteen-bent tobacco shed. The ridge line of the shed runs north-south, at an angle to Wapping Road which runs from the south-west to the north-east. The main façade of the shed is the south gable-façade with the main entrance at the center through a pair 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. 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 shed has additional ventilation through four metal roof vents, placed along the ridge line towards the north.
The wooden frame of the 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

Tobbaco shed off the road behind Christmas tree plantation. Hardly visible from the road. Also see Part - 1/3 and Part - 2/3: http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/22471 http://www.connecticutbarns.org/editor.cgi/22473

Use (Historic)

• tobacco

Use (Present)

• tobacco

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Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Garage
• Other
• Shed

Environment features

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

Relationship to surroundings

The 48.23 acres property, Map Number - 41 65 008 034, is towards the north of Wapping Road located in a pre-dominantly residential area of rural character. Dense woodland can be seen towards the south-west and the north of the property while tobacco fields with active agriculture and tobacco sheds can be seen towards the west and the south, across Wapping Road. The western portion of the property is separated from the rest of the plot by railway tracks.

The property includes at least three tobacco sheds in proper condition, Sheds-I, II & III, two highly dilapidated tobacco shed frames, Sheds-A & B, a gable roof outbuilding and the circa 1900 ranch main residence.
Shed-I is located in the eastern most edge of the property with its ridge line running east-west. Parcels of open land can be seen towards its north and the west. Shed-II is located towards the western edge of the property, near the railway tracks. The gable-roof outbuilding can be seen towards the west of Shed-II which is surrounded by Christmas trees on all side. Shed-III is located in the western most corner of the property on the other side of the railway tracks. It is positioned is a clearing dotted by Christmas trees. Sheds-A & B are two highly dilapidated sheds located almost at the center of the property, towards the north. Shed-A is towards the west while Shed-B is towards the north-east, separated by Christmas tree farm land. The ridge lines of both the sheds run east-west, parallel to each other.

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

Barn: 7200 SqFt, Circa 1900 Barn: 5152 SqFt, Circa 1900 Garage: 299 SqFt, Circa 1900 Shed: 744 SqFt, Circa 1900 Barn: 1984 SqFt, Circa 1950 Shed: 512 SqFt, Circa 1900

Date Compiled

12/04/2010

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 4th, 2010 from website http://www.equalitycama.com/ 

GIS information retrieved on December 4th, 2010 from website http://www.crcog.org/gissearch/

Photograph/Information retrieved on December 4th, 2010 from website http://www.google.com

Information retrieved on December 4th, 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.