Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural Description:

This is a barn complex towards the south of Fletcher Road with fourteen gable-entry tobacco sheds and other outbuildings scattered in the 144.8 acres plot.

Shed-I: This is a 1 1/2 –story gable-entry thirteen-bent three-aisle tobacco shed with its north gable-side facing Fletcher Road. The ridge line of the shed runs north-south perpendicular to the road. The main façade of the shed is the north gable-façade with the main entrance at the center through a pair of hinged wagon doors with blacksmith hardware. A board displaying the number of the shed as ‘37’ can be seen centered on the main façade above the main entrance. The gable attic above is separated from the rest of the façade by a distinct dropped girt siding divide line. The tobacco shed is ventilated through the vertical siding on the eave-sides where 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. Similar arrangement for ventilation can also be seen through the vertical siding on the gable attic of the main north gable-façade.

The wooden frame of the tobacco shed is supported on concrete footing. The shed has vertical siding and asphalt roofing.

Historical Significance:

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

Also See: Part – 2/4, Shed-II,III & IV; Shed- V, VI, VII, VIII & IX: http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/29608 Part – 3/4, Shed- X & XI: http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/29614 Part – 4/4, Shed- XII, XIII & XIV: http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/24978

Use (Historic)

• tobacco

Use (Present)

• tobacco

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Shed

Environment features

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

Relationship to surroundings

The 144.8 acres property, Map 107, is towards the south of Fletcher Road and west of Laughlin Road in Hazardville Fire District. It is situated in a pre-dominantly residential area of rural character. Farm land with other tobacco sheds can be seen towards the west, south and east of the property.

The property includes fourteen tobacco sheds and other outbuildings scattered over the site. Shed-I is towards the north-east of the property with the land around it separated from the rest of the site by Fletcher Camp Road. A water body can be seen towards the west of the tobacco shed while parcel of farmland can be seen towards the east and the south. Two gable-roof outbuildings with their ridge lines parallel to Fletcher Road can be seen towards the east of the tobacco shed, contained within Fletcher Camp Road. This patch of land also includes a series of five smaller gable-roof sheds towards the south-east of the tobacco shed. The ridge lines of the five sheds run parallel to each other and perpendicular to the road. 

The property includes three tobacco sheds along its eastern edge, abutting to the farmland of the adjacent property. The ridge lines of the sheds run north-south perpendicular to Fletcher Road with Shed-II towards the north, Shed-III in the middle and Shed-IV towards the south.

A series of five tobacco sheds can be seen towards the south of the property: Shed-V towards the west and Shed-IX towards the east, with Sheds-VI, VII & VIII in the middle.

The property includes five tobacco sheds towards the south-east, nearer to Laughlin Road. Two sheds can be seen towards the east of Shed-IX: Shed-X towards the north and Shed-XI towards the south. Shed-XII is located towards further east abutting to Laughlin Road. A driveway towards the south of Shed-XII separates Shed-XIII & XIV. The ridge lines of Sheds-X & XI runs east-west perpendicular to Laughlin Road while those of Sheds-XII, XIII and XIV runs north-south, parallel to the road.

Building Typology

• Tobacco Shed

Materials

• Concrete
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

08/27/2010

Compiled By

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

Sources

Photographs and field-notes provided by –
Walt Wojciehowski and Len Warburton

Assessors’ records information retrieved on August 27th, 2010 from website http://www.enfield-ct.gov/

Aerial photograph/Information retrieved on August 27th, 2010 from website http://www.google.com

Information retrieved on August 27th, 2010 from website http://www.zillow.com

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.