Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½-story gable-roof barn structure with a shed-roof extension with its ridge-line perpendicular to Cook Hill Road, which runs east-west.  The west eave-side of the barn has three bays.  The north and center bays on the west eave-side of the barn have overhead garage doors.  Located on the north half of the south bay of the west eave-façade of the barn is a single pass-through door with a visor above the door. The south half of the south bay of the west eave-façade has a six-over-six sash window.  The south gable-end of the barn has a large opening in the gable attic that appears to be boarded-up.  From the east corner of the south gable-end of the barn is the south side of the shed-roof extension.  This shed-roof extension is located on the entire east eave-side of the barn.  The east side of the shed-roof extension is blank.  A concrete foundation is visible along the south gable-end of the barn and the south and east sides of the shed-roof extension.  The barn has vertical siding painted red.  The roof is asphalt shingle. 

This appears to be a contemporary barn-like structure constructed for use as a garage.

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.

Field Notes

This appears to be a contemporary barn-like structure constructed for use as a garage.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• garage

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Garage

Environment features

• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The barn is to the east of the c. 1746 house it is associated with. The ridge-line of the house is perpendicular to the ridge-line of the barn. To the north of the barn and the house is a small open field. The total size of the site is 1.02 acres. The area surrounding the site is residential.

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Concrete
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

936 sq. ft.

Date Compiled

03/19/2011

Compiled By

A. Ehrgott & T. Levine; reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Kristen Young date 08/02/2010.

Town of Cheshire Assessor’s Record http://www.prophecyone.us/fieldcard.php?property_id=2174243
Parcel ID: 0921100

Aerial Mapping:
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 03/19/2010.

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.