Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a multi-unit barn complex towards the west of Hill Street comprising of Barn-I towards the north with its ridge line running east-west, perpendicular to Hill Street but parallel to Minor Street. The south eave-side of Barn-I has a shed-roof addition at the center flanked by a gable-roof addition towards the east and an intersecting gable-roof barn, Barn-II towards the west. The south eave-side of Barn-II has another gable-roof barn, Barn-III, attached towards the west. The ridge line of Barn-II also runs east-west while that of Barn-III runs north-south. 
 
Barn-I: This is a 1 ½ - story three-bay barn with entries from both the eave-side and the gable-end. The three-bay south eave-side of the barn has a gable-roof addition encompassing the first bay from the east, the shed-roof addition at the center and Barn-II intersecting towards the west. The ridge line of the barn runs east-west while that of the gable-roof addition runs north-south. The three-bay north eave-side of the barn is the main façade with the main entrance centered in the middle bay through a pair of Z-braced hinged wagon doors. The east gable-end of the barn facing Hill Street also has a main entrance at the center which appears to be through a pair of double-height hinged wagon doors. The gable attic lined by deep soffit is separated from the rest of the gable-end by a distinct girt siding divide line. The gable attic has an exterior-hung X-braced sliding hay door at the center with a hay track projecting out just below the apex of the roof. The east eave-side of the gable-roof addition on the south eave-side flush with the east gable-end of the main barn has a hinged pass-through off-centered towards the north. The pass-through door is flanked by a window with trim towards the north while two similar windows with trim can be seen equally spaced towards the south. An exterior-hung sliding hay door appears to be centered above the two windows towards the south. The south gable-end of the gable-roof addition has an entrance towards the extreme east through an over-head garage door. The gable attic is separated from the rest of the gable-end by a distinct dropped girt siding divide line and has a window just below the apex of the roof. The south eave-side of the shed-roof addition on the south eave-side of the main barn has two open bays.
The wooden frame of the barn has metal roofing and red painted vertical siding walls.

Barn-II: This is a 1 ½ - story three-bay bank barn intersecting the south eave-side of Barn-I. The barn has entries from both the eave-side and the gable-end while the ridge line runs east-west, perpendicular to Hill Street. The three-bay north eave-side of the barn is the main façade with the main entrance centered in the middle bay through an over-head garage door. The west gable-end of the barn has lower grade level to form the bank which is accessed by a wagon door entrance at the center. The west gable-end of the barn also appears to have windows at the first floor level and the gable attic. The south eave-side of the barn has the north gable-end of Barn-III attached towards the extreme west while a rectilinear window can be seen centered at the first floor level. A second smaller window is centered above this window, just below the eave-level. The bank level of the barn has mural in the first and the second bay from the east with animal face cutouts while the first bay from the west has an access towards the extreme east. The east gable-end of the barn has a distinct dropped girt siding divide line separating the gable attic and another siding divide line separating the area just below the apex of the roof.
The wooden frame of the barn has metal roofing and red painted vertical siding with white corner boards.

Barn-III: This is a 1 ½- story four-bay eave-entry barn with its ridge line running north-south, parallel to Hill Street. The four-bay east eave-side of the barn facing the road is the main façade with two main entrances in the first and the second bays from the north through two over-head garage doors. The façade has two rectilinear windows, one each centered in the first and the second bay from the south. The south gable-end of the barn has a double X-braced hinged pass-through door at the center with the gable attic separated by a distinct dropped girt siding divide line. The gable attic has a pair of hinged hay doors at the center with blacksmith hardware while a projecting hay track can be seen just below the apex of the roof.
The wooden frame of the barn has metal roofing and red painted vertical siding walls. 

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 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. It this case, both an eave entry and a gable entry are used.

Field Notes

This working farm is in a residential area with open fields surrounding it. The farm sign says it's been operating since 1888. One of the barns appears to be an English bank with vertical siding and a tin roof. It appears additional buildings may have been attached over time.

Use (Historic)

• mill

Use (Present)

• agriculture

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

Yes: c. 2024

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn

Environment features

• Active Agriculture
• Open Land
• Residential

Relationship to surroundings

The 28 acres property, Account number – 0122521 and Map-Lot-unit number - 66/ / 263/ /, is a corner plot located towards the west of Hill Street and the south of Minor Street. The property is situated in a predominantly residential area with individual plots separated by woodland and open land. Residential plots flank the property towards the north, south and the east across the road while parcels of farm land can be seen towards the west.

The multi-unit barn complex is located in the northeast corner of the property with Barn-I towards the north with its ridge line running east-west, parallel to Minor Street but perpendicular to Hill Street. The south eave-side of Barn-I has a shed-roof addition at the center flanked by a gable-roof addition towards the east and an intersecting gable-roof barn, Barn-II towards the west. The south eave-side of Barn-II has another gable-roof barn, Barn-III, attached towards the west. The ridge line of Barn-II also runs east-west while that of Barn-III runs north-south. The circa 1850 main residence of the property is located towards the west of the barn complex. The property is covered by farm land practicing active agriculture towards the south and the west of the barn complex.

Building Typology

• English
• English Bank
• English/New England Hybrid

Materials

• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Post & Beam
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Metal

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

Barn: 1548 SqFt;Barn: 1100 SqFt;Milk Barn: 864 SqFt;

Date Compiled

05/10/2011

Compiled By

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

Sources

Field notes and photographs provided by: Cherie Robinson, 03/05/2011.

Assessors’ records retrieved on May 10th, 2011 from website http://data.visionappraisal.com/BristolCT/DEFAULT.asp.

Photograph/Information retrieved on May 10th, 2011 from website http://www.google.com

Photograph/Information retrieved on May 10th, 2011 from website http://www.bing.com.

Photograph/Information retrieved on May 10th, 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.