Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½ - story three-bay eave-entry barn with its ridge line running east-west parallel to Torrington Road. The three-bay north eave-side of the barn facing the road is the main façade with three main entrances through three pairs of hinged wagon doors, one pair in each bay. The east gable-end of the barn has the message ‘HOPE FOR PEACE’ displayed at the center and a boarded square window with trim just below the apex of the roof. The deep soffit of the gable attic is lined by cornice board and projecting rafter tails. The undulating grade level along the east gable-end of the barn reveals the cement plastered masonry foundation of the barn.

The wooden frame of the barn is supported on cement plastered masonry foundation and has asphalt shingle roofing. The barn has red painted vertical siding with white trim. 

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 wagon door entrances and lesser number of windows of the barn suggests the probable usage of the barn as a carriage house.

Until the 1830s, the horses used for riding and driving carriages were often kept in the main barn along with the other farm animals. By the 1850s, some New England farmers built separate horse stables and carriage houses. Early carriage houses were built just to shelter a carriage and perhaps a sleigh, but no horses. The pre-cursor to the twentieth-century garage, these outbuildings are distinguished by their large hinged doors, few windows, and proximity to the dooryard.
The combined horse stable and carriage house continued to be a common farm building through the second half of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, until automobiles became common. Elaborate carriage houses were also associated with gentlemen farms and country estates of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Another form of carriage barn, the urban livery stable, served the needs of tradespeople.

Field Notes

On grounds of Goshen Public Works Dept.; next to the large complex of Comerfords (next entry), the exotic animal business. Well kept little barn; large door with hinges on long side. "Hope for Peace" lettering on the road side.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

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Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Other
• Shed

Environment features

• Commercial
• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The 5.18 acres property, account number - 00064800, map & lot number- 05/008 / 105/00 /is located towards the south of Torrington Road, Route 4. The property is situated in a mixed use area, flanked by residential plots towards the east and the west. Commercial units can be seen towards the further east and the west along Route – 4 while dense woodland covers the area towards the south and the north of the property across the road. A water body can be seen towards the south-west corner of the property.

The barn is located along the northern edge of the property abutting to Torrington Road with its ridge line running east-west parallel to the road. The property is accessed by a driveway towards the west of the barn that continues south to access a gambrel-roof structure towards it south-east and a shed-roof building towards further south, nearer to the water body. The ridge line of the gambrel-roof building runs north-south perpendicular to the road while another shed can be seen towards its east. Cluster of trees can be seen surrounding the gambrel-roof building and towards the east and the southeast of the barn.

Building Typology

• Carriage House
• English

Materials

• Concrete
• Vertical Siding

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Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

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Roof type

• Gable

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Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

02/22/2011

Compiled By

T. Levine and M. Patnaik, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Photographs and field notes provided by Lynne Williamson, 12/20/2010

Assessors’ records retrieved on February 22nd, 2011 from website http://data.visionappraisal.com/GoshenCT/

Photograph/Information retrieved on February 22nd, 2011 from website http://www.google.com

Photograph/Information retrieved on February 22nd, 2011 from website http://www.zillow.com

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.