Barn Record East Windsor
RETURN TO ‘FIND BARNS’- Building Name (Common)
- [Part - 3/3]
- Building Name (Historic)
- n/a
- Address
- 334 Rye Street, East Windsor
- Typology
- Overview
-
Designations
n/a
Historic Significance
Architectural description:
This is a barn complex of ten tobacco sheds delineated into three clusters based on their similar character and physical proximity: Cluster-A with four tobacco sheds and Cluster-B and Cluster- C with three tobacco sheds each.
Cluster-C: This includes the three tobacco sheds scattered in the south-west corner of the property. Shed-CI is towards the south-west of Shed-BIII, with its ridge line running north-south. Shed-CII is towards the west of Shed-CI, with its ridge line at an angle towards the west while Shed-CIII is located further south-west with its ridge line running from the south-west to the north-east.
Shed- CI & CII: These are two 1 ½ - story three-aisle nine-bent tobacco sheds with Shed-CI towards the east and Shed-CII towards the south-west. The main façades of the two sheds are their respective south gable-facades with the main entrances at the center through a pair of hinged wagon doors with blacksmith hardware. The sheds are ventilated through the vertical siding on the eave-sides where every second board is hinged at the top and tilted out at the bottom by means of a horizontal cleat, that lifts many boards at once, and metal prop hooks to hold the boards in place. The sheds have additional roof ventilation through continuous ridge vent.
The wooden frames of the tobacco sheds are supported on concrete footings. The sheds have white painted vertical siding and have asphalt roofing.Shed-CIII: This is a 1 ½ - story three-aisle tobacco shed which appears to be eleven-bent. The main façade of the tobacco shed is its north-east gable-façade with the main entrance at the center through a pair of hinged wagon doors with blacksmith hardware. The shed is ventilated through the vertical siding on the eave-sides where every second board is hinged at the top and tilted out at the bottom by means of a horizontal cleat, that lifts many boards at once, and metal prop hooks to hold the boards in place. The shed has additional roof ventilation through a continuous ridge vent.
The wooden frame of the tobacco shed is supported on concrete footings. The shed has white painted vertical siding and asphalt roofing.
Historical significance:The tobacco barn, or shed as it is called in the Connecticut River Valley, is one of the most distinctive of the single-crop barns. They tend to be long, low windowless buildings with pitched roofs. They are characterized by vented sides to regulate air flow and allow harvested tobacco to cure at the appropriate rate. Derived initially from the design of the English barn, the shed is composed of a fixed skeleton consisting of two- or three-aisle bents repeated at intervals of 15 feet to the desired length. The wood-framed bents sit on piers of stone or concrete and the bents are connected by girts and diagonal braces. Typically there are two doors at each end, making the shed a “drive-through,” although some sheds are accessed through doors on the sides. The interior structural framework serves a second purpose in addition to supporting the walls and roof of the building; it provides a framework for the rails used to hang the tobacco as it cures.
This is accomplished with one of four different systems (more than one method may be utilized in a single shed):
a) Vertical slats - siding in which every second board is hinged at the top and tilted out at the bottom by means of a horizontal cleat, that lifts several boards at once, and metal prop hooks to hold the boards in place;
b) Side slats - Vertical siding in which alternate boards are hinged along the sides to open like tall narrow doors, each held in place by its own hook;
c) Less commonly, horizontal siding in which alternate boards are hinged along the top edge and open like long narrow awnings; this system may be employed along the lower edge of the wall in conjunction with vertical or side slats;
d) A series of large doors along one of the long sides of the building with the other sides of the building vented by one or more of the other methods.
e) The tobacco sheds can have additional ventilation through side-pivot awning vents on the gable-ends, which co-exist with one or more of the above four systems of ventilation.Field Notes
Also see Part- 1/3: http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/22873 Part- 2/3: http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/34260
- Use & Accessibility
- Environment
Related features
Environment features
Relationship to surroundings
The 115.59 acres property, Map Number - 40 42 033 034, includes the plots 334 Rye Street and 336 Rye Street. It is located towards the west of Rye Street in a pre-dominantly residential area of rural character. The property is flanked by other residential plots towards the north, south and the west, across Rye Street. Dense woodland surrounds the property on its west and south-west. The circa 1900 colonial main residence of the plot numbered 334 Rye Street can be seen in the south-eastern corner of the property, abutting to Rye Street. A barn and few other outbuildings can be seen scattered towards the west of the main residence.
The property includes ten tobacco sheds scattered over the site, separated by parcels of farm land or dense wood land. For easy identification and description, the site has been delineated into three clusters of tobacco sheds of similar character or close proximity.
Cluster A: This includes the four tobacco sheds in the south-eastern corner of the property. Shed-AI is located towards the west of the main residence and the associated outbuildings. Shed-AII and Shed-AIV can be seen towards the south-west of Shed-AI, separated by Shed-AIII. The ridge lines of Sheds – AI & AIII run east-west while those of Sheds – AII & AIV run north-south, almost parallel to Rye Street. Farm land can be seen towards the north and the west of the cluster while dense woodland covers the land immediately towards the south of Shed-AIII.
Cluster-B: This includes the two tobacco sheds along the northern edge of the property with Shed-BI towards the east and Shed-BII towards the west. The two sheds are arranged in a straight line with their gable-sides facing each other and their ridgelines running east-west. The cluster includes a third shed, Shed-BIII located towards the south-west of Shed-BII. Farm land can be seen towards the south of Sheds – BI & BII while dense woodland can be seen towards the east and the north of Shed-BIII.
Cluster-C: This includes the three tobacco sheds scattered in the south-west corner of the property. Shed-CI is towards the south-west of Shed-BIII, with its ridgeline running north-south. Shed-CII is towards the west of Shed-CI, with its ridge line at an angle towards the west. Shed-CIII is located amidst dense vegetation further south-west, separated from Sheds – CI & CII by farmland. The ridgeline of Shed-CIII runs from the south-west to the north-east.
- Typology & Materials
-
Building Typology
Materials
Structural System
Roof materials
Roof type
Approximate Dimensions
n/a
- Source
-
Date Compiled
11/24/2010
Compiled By
T. Levine and M. Patnaik, reviewed by CT Trust
Sources
Photographs and field-notes provided by – John E. Harmon
Assessors’ records retrieved on November 24th, 2010 from website http://www.equalitycama.com/
GIS information retrieved on November 24th, 2010 from website http://www.crcog.org/gissearch/
Photograph/Information retrieved on November 24th, 2010 from website http://www.google.com
Information retrieved on November 24th, 2010 from website http://www.zillow.com
O’Gorman, James F., Connecticut Valley Vernacular: the Vanishing Landscape and Architecture of the New England Tobacco Fields, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002, 144 pages.
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.
- PhotosClick on image to view full file
-
