Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• State Historic Resource Inventory

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a two barn complex towards the east of Barn Hill Road with Barn-I towards the south and Barn-II towards the north. The ridge line of Barn-I runs east-west, perpendicular to the Barn Hill Road while that of Barn-II runs north-south. The following is the description of Barn-I while Barn-II is a late 20th-century barn/garage.

Barn-I: This is 1 1/2 –story three-bay eave-entry barn with a bank along its west gable-end and the south eave-side. The west gable-end of the barn faces Barn Hill Road with the ridge line running east-west perpendicular to the road. The three-bay north eave-side of the barn is the main façade with the main entrance centered in the middle bay through a pair of double-height exterior-hung sliding wagon doors. The grade level along the façade drops towards the southwest to form the barn along the west gable-end of the barn with the lose earth retained by coursed field stone masonry. The bank level of the west gable-end has an entrance towards the north through an exterior-hung hooded sliding wagon door and two framed six-pane windows closely spaced towards the south. The gable attic is separated by a distinct dropped girt siding divide line finished off in saw-tooth detail and has a four-pane window at the center. The low grade level wraps the barn along its south eave-side to form the bank level which has an entrance at the center through a Z-braced hinged pass-through door. Two six-pane windows with frame can be seen towards the west of the pass-through door while the ban level has exposed coursed filed stone masonry towards the east. The first floor level of the south eave-side of the barn has a hinged bay door at the center with blacksmith hardware. 

The wooden frame of the barn is supported on coursed field stone masonry foundation which appears to be un-mortared. The barn has light grey painted 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

Circa mid 1800s, this English style bank barn has post & beam construction. The only known remaining blacksmith shop in Monroe was originally at the corner of Barn Hill Road and Israel Hill Road and moved to this farm. It has a great weather vane on top of the cupola. This farm was part of a large farm owned by the Shelton family which borders on Shelton Road, CT Route 110. Also see Part 2/2 : http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/39809.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

No

Demolished

No

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Other
• Shed
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The 1 acre property, Account number – 07800500 and Map-Block-Lot number - 078 005 00, is a corner plot located towards the east of Barn Hill Road and the south of Israel Hill Road, bordering the town limits of Monroe and Shelton. The property is situated in a predominantly residential area with the surrounding plots separated by dense woodland. Residential plots can be seen towards the east, south and the west of the property across Barn Hill Road while dense woodland covers the area towards the southeast and the north, across Israel Hill Road. A pond can be seen towards the immediate southeast of the property.

The two barns are located along the eastern edge of the plot with Barn-I towards the south and Barn-II towards the north. The ridge line of Barn-I runs east-west perpendicular to Barn Hill Road while that of Barn-II runs north-south. The circa 1900 colonial main residence is located towards the northwest of Barn-II while a swimming pool located towards its south. Another 1 ½- story eave-entry shed can be seen towards the east of the main residence with its ridge line running east-west. The property has open land along its northern edge. A mortared field stone masonry well is located towards the northwest of Barn-I while field stone retaining wall can be seen towards its north.

Building Typology

• English Bank

Materials

• Fieldstone
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Post & Beam
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

Barn: 32 X 24 Sqft, Circa 1979;Shed: 18 X 24 Sqft, Circa 1979;Barn: 12 X 24 Sqft, Circa 1979;Pool: 15 X 27 Sqft, Circa 2004;

Date Compiled

03/31/2011

Compiled By

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

Sources

Field notes and photographs provided by: Lee Hossler, 03/04/2011.

Photographs provided by: Todd Levine, 09/21/2006.

Assessors’ records retrieved on March 31st, 2011 from website http://monroe.univers-clt.com/ .

Assessors’ maps retrieved on March 31st, 2011 from website http://www.monroect.org/ .

Photograph/Information retrieved on March 31st, 2011 from website http://www.google.com

Photograph/Information retrieved on March 31st, 2011 from website http://www.bing.com.

Photograph/Information retrieved on March 31st, 2011 from website http://www.zillow.com.

Donohue, Mary, McCain, Diana Ross, Historic & Architectural Resource Survey of Monroe CT, Connecticut Historical Commission, 2002.

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.