Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural Description:

This is a rectilinear two barn complex with 1 1/2 story gable-entry barn towards the east, Barn-I, and a tobacco shed towards the west, Barn-II. The east gable-façade of Barn-I faces Newgate Road while the west gable-façade adjoins to the east gable-façade of Barn-II. The ridge-line of both the barns runs east-west perpendicular to the road with that of Barn-I relatively higher.

The main façade of the 1 ½ story gable-entry Barn-I is the east gable-façade with the main entrance through an exterior-hung X-braced wagon door. The façade has a hay door with lintel trim above the main entrance, off-centered towards the south. The gable attic above is separated from the rest of the façade by a distinct girt siding divide line and has been repaired by new vertical siding in patches. The south eave-façade of the barn has a ventilation system through the vertical siding where the boards are intermittently hinged at the top at varying heights and tilted out at the bottom by means of horizontal cleat and metal prop hooks to hold the boards in place. Similar system for ventilation can also be seen on the north eave-façade. The north eave-façade of the barn has concrete block masonry towards the north punctuated by at least two windows. The wooden frame of the barn is supported on concrete block masonry foundation. The barn has vertical siding and asphalt roofing.

The 1 ½ story Barn-II towards the west of Barn-I has a similar system of ventilation through the vertical siding where the boards are intermittently hinged at the top at varying heights and tilted out at the bottom by means of horizontal cleat, and metal prop hooks to hold the boards in place. The wooden frame of the barn has vertical siding and asphalt shingle roofing. 

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.

The additional ventilation system through the vertical siding and absence of windows suggest the usage of the barn as a tobacco shed.

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 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 many boards at once, and metal prop hooks to hold the boards in place;
b) Vertical siding in which alternate boards are hinged along the sides to open like tall narrow doors;
c) Less commonly, horizontal siding in which alternate boards are hinged along the top edge and open like long narrow awnings;
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.

Field Notes

The barn complex is visible from the road and not accessible to the public. It is in a residential and open land area facing east. Much of the original farm has been sold off for residential development. Built in the early 1900's, the construction is wood frame with concrete and vertical siding. The roof is gabled and asphalt. The barn was originally a tobacco shed made of two barns joined end to end, one a four tier and one a three tier shed. Nearby is another barn and a windmill. Other barn towards the north-west: The barn is visible from the road and not accessible to the public. Animal entrances are at the east and west end. It is located in a residential and open land area on the same property as the end to end connected tobacco sheds of the same address. Originally a dairy barn it is now used as storage. Built in 1930(est)as New England topology, of concrete, board and batten with a wood frame, it has a gabled roof with asphalt shingles. \ Threats are deterioration and developers.

Use (Historic)

• tobacco

Use (Present)

• storage

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Other

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Rural

Relationship to surroundings

The 5.03 acres rectangular plot is located towards the west of Newgate Road. It is a one-family residential unit plot in agricultural zone. The property is surrounded by other residential plots towards the north, west, south and the east, across Newgate Road. The southern edge of the property is demarcated by a driveway leading to the residential plots towards the west.
The barn is located towards the south-western edge of the property with the main residence towards the east, abutting Newgate Road. Another 1 ½ story eave-entry barn can be seen towards north-east and a water body towards further north. Parcels of open land can be seen towards the north and north-west of the property.

Building Typology

• New England
• Tobacco Shed

Materials

• Concrete Block
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

08/21/2010

Compiled By

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

Sources

Photographs and field-notes provided by –
J. Ward Mathis, jward61@gmail.com

Aerial photograph/Information retrieved on August 21st, 2010 from website http://www.zillow.com

Information retrieved on August 21st, 2010 from website http://www.google.com

GIS Map information retrieved on August 21st, 2010 from website http://www.crcog.org

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.