Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• Local Historic District
• National Register
• State Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 2 1/2 story gable-entry bank barn with a eave-entry. The main facade faces east and the ridge-line of the barn is perpendicular to South Main Street, which runs approximately north-south. The original main entry appears to be a pair of hinged doors in the middle of three bays in the east gable-facade. All three bays have elliptical arches supported by pilasters, although the middle bay is slightly larger. The middle and south bay have a pair of four panel doors with two panels above in the arch of the bays. The north bay has a set of two round-arched, six-over-six double hung windows. In the second level of the east gable-facade are two sets of two round-arched, six-over-six double hung windows. Centered in the gable attic is a round window with muntins shaped in a flower motif. The grade of the facade towards the north corner slightly declines, revealing a brick foundation.

The grade declines sharply at the south corner towards the west, revealing the basement level. In the basement level are three overhead garage doors and the exposed brick foundation. There is a pass-through door at the south west corner in the south eave-side of the barn in the main level before the grade drops. The rest of the main level has four equally spaced windows. The roof is bracketed. The west gable-side of the barn has a wide door in the basement level, five windows in the main level and two windows in the gable attic. The grade slightly inclines in the north eave-side of the barn. In the main level of the north eave-side of the barn are three windows. The barn has vertical siding, paneling and clapboards painted yellow with maroon trim. The roof has a projecting overhang with fascia and brackets. The roof is covered with asphalt shingles and is topped with a cupola.

Historical significance:

Listed as a contributing resource in the Suffield Historic District National Register of Historic Places.

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.

The 19th century also saw the introduction of a basement under the barn to allow for the easy collection and storage of a winter’s worth of manure from the animals sheltered within the building. The bank barn is characterized by the location of its main floor above grade, either through building on a hillside or by raising the building on a foundation. This innovation, aided by the introduction of windows for light and ventilation, would eventually be joined by the introduction of space to shelter more animals under the main floor of the barn.

Field Notes

Built in 1860, the 2400 sq. ft. barn was completely refurbished after the present owner bought the property in 1998. It is a bank barn with two story upper level and originally housed animals on the lower level. It is on the West side of the street, facing east. An interesting feature is the windmill on the north side of the roof.It is quite an elegant facade. A great deal of deterioration had occurred when it was restored, demanding great effort to put it in into its present condition. Henry Steele owned the property from the 1950's to the late 80's. He had a pair of mules, sheep and chickens on the property and kept them in the barn. Mr. Steele was quite a town character and also sold cider from his front porch. The writer was familiar with this because she lived across the street and her daughter helped him out. When he finally sold the property he was in his early 90's. When he acquired the property it had been unoccupied for a number of years and he saw a chance to get a significant property for a bargain price. He divided off the land on the north side of the barn and sold it earlier. There is now a single family estate there. Located in the Main Street Local Historic District and the Suffield National Register Historic District.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• garage

---

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Other

Environment features

• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The barn is behind and to the west of the house it is associated with. A driveway leads to the southwest corner of the barn, where a set of stairs leads to the basement level. south of the stairs are two retaining walls. The driveway splits just south of the house and goes directly to the basement level. The total lot size is 1.42 acres. The area surrounding the lot is residential with light woodland.

Building Typology

• New England Bank

Materials

• Brick
• Clapboard
• Other
• Vertical Siding

---

Structural System

n/a

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

---

Roof type

• Gable

---

Approximate Dimensions

2400 sq. ft

Date Compiled

08/22/2010

Compiled By

Todd Levine, reviewed by the Connecticut Trust

Sources

Photographs and field notes by Janet Banks.

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.

Map of Suffield, CT, retrieved on August 22, 2010 from website www.zillow.com.

Vision Appraisal Online Database. www.visionappraisal.com/Suffieldct.

The Capitol Region Council of Governments website. http://www.crcog.org/gissearch/.

Ransom, David, National Register of Historic Places Nomination #380356, 1978, Suffield Historic District. Item No. 79003750 NRIS (National Register Information System) http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/79003750.pdf
http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Photos/79003750.pdf