Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½-story tripartite eave-entry barn with a gable roof.  The barn is oriented nearly parallel to Huntsville-South Canaan Road (Route CT-63), which passes this property at a gentle northwest to southeast angle.  The primary façade of this barn is the south eave-side, which faces Huntsville-South Canaan Road. 

The main entry on this barn is a pair of over-size wooden sliding doors with X-bracing.  This entry is located in the center bay of the barn.  The remainder of the façade is blank.  The ground around the west-gable end slopes down slightly revealing a portion of the fieldstone foundation.  The first story is blank on the west-gable end of the barn.  The gable-attic contains a large rectangular louvered vent.  The east gable-end also has a blank first story.  The gable-attic contains a small centered window, beneath the roof ridgeline.  Immediately below this window is a square hay door.  The north eave-side is not visible for the purposes of an Historic Resource Inventory.

The exterior walls of this barn are clad in vertical wooden flush-board siding.  The roof is covered in gray asphalt shingles.  Topping the roof is a centered cross-gabled cupola.  This cupola contains louvered vents on each of its four sides.  The exterior of the barn is painted white, while all louvers are painted black. 

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

Looks like a well kept barn - can't tell what the structure is.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Cupola

Environment features

• Residential
• Rural
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The south eave-side of this barn faces Huntsville-South Canaan Road.  The barn is set at the outside of a gentle curve in the highway and is clearly visible as cars travel around the curve.  The house associated with this barn is a large cross-gabled residence located just to the west of this barn.  The barn and house are immediately surrounded by a grassy lawn with scattered trees.  The barn is accessed from the road by a gravel driveway which passes through a wooden fence and leads to the main entry.  The surrounding area is hilly and covered with dense woodland, with scattered residences along Huntsville-South Canaan Road.

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Flush-board
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

GARAGE: 529 square feet.

Date Compiled

04/27/2011

Compiled By

N. Nietering & T. Levine, Reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Photographs by Liddy Baker & Nathan Nietering.

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, 213 pages.

Map of Canaan, CT, retrieved on April 27, 2011 from website www.bing.com.

Canaan Assessor’s Records - Town of Canaan Assessor’s Office site visit - April 21, 2011.