Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 1/2 story eave-entry tripartite barn with a gable-entry and an set of open bays on the west end. The main facade faces northwest and the ridge-line of the barn is perpendicular to Muddy Road, which runs approximately southeast-northwest. The main entry is a double-height exterior sliding door in the middle of three bays on the northwest eave-facade. The track extends into the westernmost bay, which is open, but scaled to half of the height of the facade. The northernmost bay on the northwest eave-facade appears to have a smaller pair of swinging hinged doors. The southwest gable-facade has two open bays supported by three poles, scaled to half of the height of the facade. Above the openings are vertical siding with side-hinged vents. The gable attic is blank. The southernmost bay of the southeast eave-facade is open and scaled to half of the height of the facade. There are no other openings per se in this facade, but the rest of the facade has vertical siding with side-hinged vents. The northeast gable-facade has a wagon door opening in the middle of the bay. The rest of the facade is blank. The barn has vertical flush-board siding painted red on the northwest eave-facade, the northeast gable-facade and the gable attic of the southwest gable-facade. The rest of the barn has vertical siding with side-hinged vents. The roof is metal. The foundation is concrete block masonry bases.

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 tobacco barn, or shed as they are called in the Connecticut River Valley, is one of the most distinctive of the singe-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.  This is accomplished with one of four different systems: vertical siding with top-hinged vents, vertical siding with side-hinged vents, horizontal siding with top hinged vents, or a series of large doors along one of the long sides of the building with the other sides of the building vented. The interior structural framework served a second purpose in addition to supporting the walls and roof of the building; it provided a framework for the rails used to hang the tobacco as it was curing. 

Field Notes

3 barns

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

---

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Garage
• Shed

Environment features

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

Relationship to surroundings

The barn is beside and to the northwest of the house it is associated with. The ridge-line of the barn is parallel to the ridge-line of the house. A small yard is to the southwest of the house, which fronts Muddy Brook Road.  To the east of the house is a two car garage. Across Muddy Brook Road to the west and south is a large track of open space. To the east of the house is woodland. A driveway and a small yard separate the house from the barn. Behind and to the north of the barn is pole barn. Further north, to the northwest and northeast are large tracts of open space. Bordering the site to the west is a pole barn, then Green Road. The area is scattered residential, active agriculture, open space and woodland.

Building Typology

• English
• Tobacco Shed

Materials

• Concrete
• Vertical Siding

---

Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Metal

---

Roof type

• Gable

---

Approximate Dimensions

880 S.F.

Date Compiled

08/09/2010

Compiled By

Todd Levine, reviewed by the Connecticut Trust

Sources

Photographs and field notes by Carol Roffey.

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.

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

Map of the Ellington, CT, retrieved on August 5, 2010 from website www.zillow.com.