Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½-story gable-roofed barn structure with a shed-roofed addition.  The barn is oriented with its ridge-line parallel to Westside Road, which runs approximately north-south.  The main entry, located on the west half of the center bay of the south gable-façade of the barn, is a pair of double X-braced sliding barn doors opening at grade; it is mounted on an exterior track and has a prominent threshold that appears to be cut stone.  The east bay of the south gable-façade of the barn is blank.  The west bay of the south gable-façade has a pass-through door opening with what appears to be a double X-braced sliding barn door mounted on an exterior track.  A six-pane fixed window is located in the gable attic of the south gable-façade of the barn. A fieldstone retaining wall extends south from the southwest corner of the barn where the grade slopes to the north, revealing a basement level.  A three-pane fixed window is located at the southernmost end of the west eave-side on the basement level of the barn.  Extending to the north is a row of six six-pane fixed windows equally spaced along the west eave-side of the barn on the basement level. Located on northernmost end of the west eave-side of the barn on the basement level is a double X-braced barn door.  A pair of six-over-six double-hung sash windows is located on the main level of the west eave-side of the barn.  The north gable-end of the barn has a shed-roofed addition that encompasses the entire basement and main levels.  The gable attic of the north gable-end of the barn has a six-pane fixed window.  On the south half of the west side of the shed-roofed addition on the basement level is a pair of double X-braced barn doors.  On the north half of the west side of the shed-roofed addition on the basement level is a six-pane fixed window.  A pair of six-pane fixed windows are located on the main level of the west side of the shed-roofed addition.  A tall fieldstone foundation is visible on the west half of the north side of the shed-roofed addition on the basement level.  Located to the immediately to the east of the tall fieldstone foundation, in the center of the north side of the shed roofed-addition on the basement level, is a single pass-through door with a small single-pane window in the upper half of the door.  A pair of double X-braced swinging barn doors are located on the eastern most half of the north side of the shed-roofed addition on the basement level.  Between the single pass-through door and the pair of double X-braced swinging barn doors on the north side of the shed-roofed addition is shorter span of fieldstone foundation. A six-pane fixed window is located above this shorter span of fieldstone fountain.  A row of four six-pane fixed windows is located on the main level of the north side of the shed-roofed addition.  A band of concrete foundation is visible along the west bay of the south gable-façade and the entire west eave-side of the barn.  Concrete foundation is also visible on the north half of the west side and east half of the north side of the shed-roofed addition.  The barn has vertical siding and trim painted red.  The roofs have projecting overhangs and 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.

The main innovation of this multi-level design was to provide access near the top of the haymow so that loads could be dumped from wagons rather than hoisted into a loft above. The top main door on High-drives usually extends above the level of the eaves on the sides and often had ramps.

Field Notes

Beautifully restored barn - interesting retoration that seems to be 2 seperate barns that had been cobbled together

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The barn is across the road and to the east of the c. 1890 house it is associated with. To the north and east of the barn is a post-and-rail fence. To the west of the barn is Westside Roadt, which runs approximately north-south.  Further to the north, east and south of the barn, on the east side of the road, are open fields.  The total size of the site is 9.90 acres. The area surrounding the site is residential and woodland.

Building Typology

• English Bank
• Multi-tiered
• Other Shed

Materials

• Concrete
• Fieldstone
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Post & Beam
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

1680 S.F.

Date Compiled

03/11/2011

Compiled By

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

Sources

Field notes and photographs by John Milnes Baker date 10/29/2010.

Town of Norfolk Assessor’s Record http://data.visionappraisal.com/NorfolkCT/findpid.asp?iTable=pid&pid=697
http://data.visionappraisal.com/NorfolkCT/findpid.asp?iTable=pid&pid=665

Parcel ID: 000157 (barn) and 000154 (house)

Aerial Mapping:
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 03/12/2011.

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.