Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• State Historic Resource Inventory
• State Register

Historic Significance

Building 2 of 2.

Architectural description:

This is a large 1 ½-story double-cross gable barn with a rectangular footprint.  The two cross gables, one eastern and one western, are aligned north to south, and linked by a center connecting portion which is aligned east to west.  The primary façade of this barn is the north gable-end, which includes the two gable-ends of the cross gable sections and the north face of the perpendicular center connector.  The north gable-end is parallel to Popple Swamp Road, which passes this property at an east to west angle.

The primary façade of this barn is the north gable-end, which contains the main entries.  These entries consist of two over-size sliding wooden doors, each with decorative external X and V shaped bracing and are mounted on an upper track.  One door is mounted nearly in the center of the perpendicular center connector, and the other is mounted near the northeast corner in the eastern gabled structure.  The façade of the western gabled structure contains no doors on the first floor, but does have a centered six-pane rectangular window.  Directly above this window within the gable-attic is a square hay door with decorative exterior bracing.  Above this door is a horizontal five-pane window opening, beneath the roof ridgeline.  An identical five-pane window is also mounted in the gable-attic on the façade of the eastern gabled structure.

The west eave-side contains six horizontal window openings, evenly spaced along the upper part of the first story.  The south gable-end contains a pair of oversized hinged wooden doors in the perpendicular center connector.  The western gabled structure contains a single six-pane window in the eastern half on the first floor, and a round six-pane window in the gable-attic beneath the roof ridgeline.  The western gabled structure contains two symmetrically placed three-pane horizontal windows on the first floor.  The gable-attic is blank.  Extensive vine growth precludes seeing the east eave-side of this barn.

The exterior walls of this barn are clad in vertical wide-width flush-board siding, unpainted.  The roof is covered in gray asphalt shingles.  Centered on the ridgeline of the perpendicular center connector is a large cupola.  Mounted atop a square base, each of the four sides contain three arched louvered vents, with the center vent slightly taller than the outer two.  The cupola is topped by a steeply-pitched pyramidal roof with flares eaves.  At the apex of the pyramid is an iron weathervane. 

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 New England barn or gable front barn was the successor to the English barn and relies on a gable entry rather than an entry under the eaves. The gable front offers many practical advantages. Roofs drain off the side, rather than flooding the dooryard. Although it was seen by many as an improvement over the earlier side entry English Barn, the New England barn did not replace its predecessor but rather coexisted with it. In this case the two styles are combined; both a gable entry and an eave entry are used.

Field Notes

Listed on the State Register of Historic Places 12/04/2013.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• storage

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

No

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Complex
• Cupola
• Fields

Environment features

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

Relationship to surroundings

This barn is one of two at this location.  The other barn is situated to the immediate west of this barn, and is an English barn with large addition, forming an L shaped footprint.  Both are situated close to Popple Swamp Road along its south side, which passes this location at an east to west angle.  The main entries to this barn are accessed by a large gravel parking area between the road and the eastern half of this barn structure.  Scattered small trees and brush surround this structure on all sides.  To the immediate south and southwest are fields of active agriculture.  Additional fields extend farther west and to the northeast of this property.  Fields are lined by trees or shrubs.  Angling across the south end of this property is CT Route 4.  Scattered ponds and a small stream are located to the south of this highway.  Woodlands are located beyond Popple Swamp Road to the north.

Building Typology

• English
• English/New England Hybrid

Materials

• Flush-board
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Post & Beam

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

BARN: 1,488 square feet

Date Compiled

05/14/2011

Compiled By

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

Sources

Photographs by Alec Frost & Charlotte Hitchcock.

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 Cornwall, CT, retrieved on May 6, 2011 from website www.bing.com.

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