Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½ story eave-entry barn with a bank along its southern eave-side. The eastern gable-façade of the barn faces Butlertown Road with its ridge-line running east-west perpendicular to the road. The northern eave-façade of the barn appears to be the main façade with the main entrance at the center through a pair of hinged wagon doors with one leaf no longer in place. The façade has a skylight insert centered on the slope of the gable roof. The western eave-façade of the barn has a hinged pass-through door insert towards the north with a pair of twin one-over-one double-hung sliding windows towards the south. The windows on the façade seen to be later replacement to the original windows. The southern eave-façade of the barn facing the property has a lower grade level to form the bank which is separated from the rest of the façade by a distinct siding divide line. A pass-through door can be seen on the bank level centered between two pairs of twin six-over-six double-hung sliding windows. A retaining wall of mortared field-stone masonry towards the west can be seen flush with the southern eave-façade of the barn at the bank level. The façade also has three pairs of one-over-one double-hung sliding window replacements towards the east at the first floor level and a skylight insert centered on slope of the gable-roof.

The wooden frame of the barn is supported on stone foundation. The barn has vertical siding and asphalt shingle roofing.

Historical significance:

The oldest barns still found in the state are called the “English Barn,” “side-entry barn,” “eave entry,” or a 30 x 40. They are simple buildings with rectangular plan, pitched gable roof, and a door or doors located on one or both of the eave sides of the building based on the grain warehouses of the English colonists’ homeland. The name “30 by 40” originates from its size (in feet), which was large enough for 1 family and could service about 100 acres. The multi-purpose use of the English barn is reflected by the building’s construction in three distinct bays - one for each use. The middle bay was used for threshing, which is separating the seed from the stalk in wheat and oat by beating the stalks with a flail. The flanking bays would be for animals and hay storage.
The 19th century 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 into 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

There are several buildings on property, including possible root cellar. Barn currently is re-used as a studio. The current use of the red barn is not known. The barn is visible from the street.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• workspace

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Other
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The property is towards the west of Butlertown Road with thick woodland towards its west. The barn is located towards the north-west of the property with the main residence towards the east, nearer to the road. A small vinyl pond is located towards the east of the barn. Stone walls and lose rubble can be seen towards the south and south-west of the barn.

Building Typology

• English Bank

Materials

• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

Barn- 546 SqFt, Second Barn- 600 SqFt, Vinyl Pool- 512 Sqft, Rubble/brick Shed- 240 Sqft, Wood Porch- 280 SqFt.

Date Compiled

07/13/2010

Compiled By

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

Sources

Photographs and information provided by – Kathya Landeros

Additional photographs provided by William Auwood.

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.