Viets Tavern and Farm, Part – 2/3 (114 Newgate Road, East Granby (Central Valley))

Designations

National Register

Historic Significance

Architectural Description:

This is a barn complex towards the east of Newgate Road with Barn-I attached to the east eave-side of the circa 1763 historic main residence, Viet Tavern. Barn-II is situated towards the further east of the main residence while the ice-house, Barn-III is towards the south-east. A tobacco shed, Barn-IV, can be seen towards the north of the main residence with its west gable-side abutting to Newgate Road.

Barn-III: This is a 1 1/2- story eave-entry barn with a shed-roof addition encompassing the entire length of the east eave-side. The west eave-side of the barn faces Newgate Road while the ridge line runs north-south parallel to the road. The main façade of the barn is the east eave-façade of the shed-roof addition on the east eave-side of the main barn with the main entrance off-centered towards the south through a pair of hinged wagon doors with blacksmith hardware. The main wagon door entrance is flanked by two windows, one each on either side. The north gable-side of the barn has a hinged pass-through door at the center with a hinged hay door above. The north side-wall of the shed-roof addition is flush with the north gable-side of the main barn towards the east and has two boarded windows. The west eave-side of the barn has an entrance at the center through a hinged pass-through door with a hinged hay door above. A wooden ladder can be seen towards the north of the pass-through door. The south gable-side of the barn is blank with the south side-wall of the shed-roof addition flush towards the east.
The wooden frame of the barn has vertical siding walls and slate roofing. The damaged portions of the roof are covered by asphalt sheets.

Historical Significance:

The historic circa 1763 Viets Travern is listed in the National Register [72001338 NRIS].

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 use of ice for refrigeration became popular in New England by the middle of the 19th century, especially as farmers shifted to dairy production. The small farm buildings used to store ice through the summer can usually be recognized by their thick insulated walls and few windows. Early examples have low ventilators on the roof. Ice was packed in straw or the walls were built double with an air space of up to 18 inches, as insulation. Icehouses continued to be used until electrical refrigeration was installed during the 1930s and 1940s.

Field Notes

The Viets Tavern and Farm is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Tavern building dates to the 18th century. A barn (I) now attached to the tavern building, may have originally been free-standing, but was joined by an early 20th c. addition. Some of the farm buildings have been removed, but as of 2003 there remained a large post and beam barn (II), and ice house (III) and a tobacco barn (IV). These photos were taken in 2003 as part of a study performed by Paul B. Bailey Architect for the then CT Historical Commission. Barn-IV: The barn is visible from the road and the exterior is accessible to the public. It faces west and is in a residential area, across the street from Newgate Prison, adjacent to Viets Tavern. Bulit in 1850, it is constructed of fieldstone, board and batten with a gabled slate roof. It has a post and beam frame and New England topology. It was used as workspace and is still used that way today. Built for non-farm use, this barn has a shallow basement for temporary storage of copper ore. The upper level housed mine workers. Barn-III: The shed-roof addition on the east eave-side of the barn has now been completely removed from the structure with timber braces supporting the walls.

Use (Historic)

storage

Use (Present)

unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

Barn
Shed

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

The 26.5 acres property is located towards the east of Newgate Road in a historically significant area with the property, Viets Tavern, on the National Register (NRIS 72001338). The National Historic Landmark, Old Newgate Prison Musem, is located towards the west of the Tavern across Newgate Road. A few residential plots can be seen towards the south of the property while dense woodland surrounds the property towards the north and the east.

The 1763 main residence, which is a contributing building to the National Register, is situated towards the south-west corner of the property, abutting to Newgate Road. Barn-I is attached to the east eave-side of the main residence, with its ridge line running east-west perpendicular to the road. Barn-II is situated towards the further east of the main residence while the ice-house, Barn-III is towards the south-east. The ridge line of Barn-II runs east-west perpendicular to the road while that of Barn-III runs north-south parallel to the road. The property includes two other small gable-roof sheds: one towards the west of Barn-II and the other towards the north of Barn-III. Dense woodland can be seen towards the east of Barn-III. A tobacco shed, Barn-IV, is situated towards the north of the main residence with its west gable-side abutting to Newgate Road. Parcels of farm land can be seen towards the east and north-east of the tobacco shed.

Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

09/26/2010

Compiled By

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

Sources

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

Additional photographs and notes provided by-
Charlotte R. Hitchcock, charlotteh@snet.net

Viets Tavern, National Register Nomination Number- 72001338 NRIS, National Park Service, 1972.
http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/72001338.pdf
http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Photos/72001338.pdf

Information retrieved on September 26th, 2010 from website http://www.zillow.com

Information retrieved on September 26th, 2010 from website http://www.google.com

GIS Map information retrieved on September 26th, 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.

Historic Barns of Connecticut

Barn Record East Granby