Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 2 ½-story multi-tiered eave-entry bank barn with a gable roof.  The primary façade of this barn is the southeast eave-side.  The main entry to this barn is within a projecting gable which extends out from the second floor of the façade to the southeast.  This projecting gable is Addition I.

The primary façade is the southeast eave-side, which faces Town Street. 
Centered on the second story of the façade is Addition I, a large projecting gable-roof dormer, which cantilevers out to meet a raised earthen embankment ramp with a stone wall support facing the barn.  A circular access driveway passes beneath this projecting dormer.  The southeast gable-end of Addition I contains the main entry, a pair of over-size hinged wooden doors.  A paired arched louvered vent is centered in the gable above.  The southeast eave-side and northeast eave-side each feature a four pane window, slightly arched, and centered on each side.

The façade of the barn is divided into two halves by the projecting Addition I.  The northern half features a single tall rectangular window on the first story, off-center toward the south, and a square door of wood plank construction the same height as the window.  This door is located immediately between the window and Addition I.  No other openings are present on this half of the façade.  A single pass-through door is located on the first story of the façade, beneath the projecting Addition I.  The southern half features a mirrored image of the north half on the first floor, with a square wooden door and tall window directly against Addition I.  The second story contains two two-over-two double hung windows in the northern half.

The southwest gable-end contains a long run of tall vertical windows along the first story.  Three pairs of two-over-two double-hung windows are located on the second floor beneath the girt line siding divide on this end.  A run of six arched double-hung windows is centered above the girt line within the gable-attic.  A paired arched louvered vent, similar to the one found within the gable-attic of Addition I, is centered beneath the roof ridgeline on this gable-end.

The northeast gable-end exposes the full foundation, which appears to include both mortared fieldstone and concrete segments, and the basement level.  Several window and door openings appear to be located in the basement level on this end.  Several window openings are located on the first story on this end.  Starting at the east corner and working west, first is a series of three tall windows, followed by a single tall window, followed by a square window aligned with the lintels of the preceding tall windows.  Next is a pair of tall windows, followed by a single tall window nearest the north corner.  A paired arched louvered vent appears to be located within the gable-attic.  No other openings appear to be present on this end.

The northwest eave-side is not visible for the purposes of an Historic Resource Inventory.  The exterior walls of this barn and Addition I are clad in vertical wooden flush-board siding, unpainted.  The roof is covered in brown asphalt shingles. 

Historical significance:

Three-tiered barns are rare in New England and particularly in Connecticut. Similar to a high-drive bank barn, the difference is a third level, often at the opposite gable end of the high drive gable entrance.

The main innovation of this three- or four-story 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

n/a

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• residence

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Garage
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Active Agriculture
• Open Land
• Rural
• Scattered Buildings

Relationship to surroundings

The main façade of this barn is the southeast eave-side, which faces Town Street.  Town Street passes this property at a northeast to southwest angle.  A circular drive passes beneath the projecting Addition I and connects to Town Street at each end.  A branch of the driveway also diverges at the south end and leads to a gable-roof automobile garage, clad in the same exterior facing as the main barn.  The land in the center of the circular drive has been banked up resulting in a ramp leading to the over-size entry on the front gable-end of Addition I.  This earth bank is retained on the inside along the driveway by a fieldstone retaining wall.  Additional stone walls retain the earth along the north edge of the driveway from the east corner of the barn, and also parallel Town Street going to the northeast from this property.  A small creek passes to the north of this barn.  The earthen bank and surrounding yard is covered by grass, with scattered trees in the side and rear yards.  Trees cluster around the creek along the north edge of this property.  A series of tall coniferous trees are located to the immediate north of the barn.  Beyond these immediate surroundings, fields of active agriculture stretch out in every direction.  These fields are mostly lined with trees.  Beyond the fields, especially to the north, are areas of dense woodland.

Building Typology

• Multi-tiered

Materials

• Concrete
• Fieldstone
• Flush-board
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

n/a

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

3,000 square feet

Date Compiled

05/14/2011

Compiled By

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

Sources

Photographs by Charlotte Hitchcock & 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 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.