Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½-story eave-entry bank barn. The main entry façade of the barn is the north eave-side and the ridgeline of the barn is parallel to Ore Hill Road, which at this point runs approximately east to west. The main entry is a pair of sliding doors off center to the right (west). The grade of the east gable-end of the barn drops revealing a basement of un-mortared field-stone. The east gable-end of the barn has four evenly spaced windows with louvers on the main level and two evenly spaced windows with louvers in the attic. There is a window with louvers towards the apex of the east gable-end of the barn. The south eave-side of the barn has siding continued down over the field-stone to grade. There appears to be a pair of either sliding or hinged doors about center of the basement level of the south eave-side of the barn. There appear to be four evenly spaced windows with louvers on the main level of the south eave-side of the barn. The grade of the west gable-end of the barn inclines towards the main level. The west gable-end of the barn has four evenly spaced windows with louvers on the main level and two evenly spaced windows with louvers in the attic. There is a window with louvers towards the apex of the west gable-end of the barn. There is a small built-in box at the north corner of the west gable-end of the barn. The barn is covered in clapboard painted red with corner boards and cornice boards and red trim. The roof is covered in asphalt shingles.

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

Berubi Barn Pennsylvania English Bank Barn 40 X 60 Clapboard siding post and beam wood shingle roof. Reconstructed on site. Used for cattle and hay storage. 84a first barn at left of picture 84b south side of Ore Hill Rd.below L shaped barn 84c on the same side as 84b back towards junction with Peet Hill Rd. close to the road 84d opposite side of Ore Hill Rd.in same area as 84c and 84b surrounded by tall pines

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• agriculture

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Active Agriculture
• Open Land
• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The barn (84a on aerial photo) sits to the far northwest of and across Peet Hill Road from the c. 1780 house with which it is associated. The ridgeline of the house is perpendicular to that of the barn. To the north of the barn is Ore Hill Road. To the east is Peet Hill Road. To the south of the barn are three ponds and a smaller barn.  The site is partially bordered by stonewalls to the west and south. The total size of site is 512 acres. The area surrounding the site is light residential, open fields, agricultural and woodland.

Building Typology

• English Bank

Materials

• Clapboard
• Fieldstone

Structural System

• Post & Beam

Roof materials

• Wood Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

40 x 60

Date Compiled

02/12/2011

Compiled By

TR Revella & T. Levine, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Dick Lindsey date 10/11/2010.

Town of Kent Assessor’s Record:
http://data.visionappraisal.com/KentCT/findpid.asp?iTable=pid&pid=1307
Parcel ID: 00158200

Aerial Mapping:
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 02/12/2010.

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.