Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• State Historic Resource Inventory

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 2 1/2- story multi-bay eave-entry barn with a salt-box roof addition encompassing the entire length of its south eave-side and a shed-roof addition on its west gable-end. The ridge line of the barn runs east-west, almost parallel to this portion of Fan Hill Road. The north eave-side of the barn facing the road is the main façade with the main entrance in the second bay from the east through a pair of double-height X-braced exterior-hung sliding wagon doors. Two closely spaced three-pane transom windows with trim can be seen centered above the main entrance. The façade has a second entrance through a pair of hinged wagon doors in the first bay from the east while two over-head garage doors can be seen closely spaced towards the extreme west. The second over-head garage door from the west is separated from the main wagon door entrance by a six-over-six double-hung sash window towards the west and a six-pane window with trim towards east. The eave-level of the north eave-façade of the barn is lined by projecting rafter tails. The east gable-end of the barn has a hinged pass-through door off-centered towards the south with the gable attic separated by a distinct dropped girt siding divide line finished off in saw-tooth detail. The gable attic is lined by deep soffit and has a single-pane window just below the apex of the roof. The east side-wall of the salt-box roof addition on the south eave-side of the barn is flush with the east gable-end and has three equally spaced six-pane stable windows. A hinged hay door can be seen above the third window from the south while another six-pane window with trim can be seen above the hay door, off-centered towards the south. The south eave-side of the salt-box roof addition encompassing the entire length of the south eave-side of the main barn has a wagon door entrance at the center flanked by two pairs of double six-pane windows on either side. The south eave-side of the salt-box roof addition appears to have a second entrance towards the west while a six-pane window with trim can be seen towards the east. Exposed concrete block masonry foundation can be seen along the grade level towards the east. The west gable-end of the barn has a semi-open shed-roof addition at the center with the gable attic separated by a distinct dropped girt siding divide line finished off in saw-tooth detail. The gable attic has deep soffit with the apex of the roof projecting out to form a hay hood. The west gable-end of the barn has a small gable-roof addition above the shed-roof addition. The north eave-side of this gable-roof addition has a window towards the west while its west gable-end has two similar windows. The apex of the roof of the gable-roof addition also projects out to form a hay hood. The gable-roof of the main barn appears to have a projecting chimney at the center.

The wooden frame of the barn has asphalt shingle roofing and red painted vertical siding with white trim. The barn has exposed concrete block masonry foundation along the south eave-side of the salt-box roof addition towards the east.

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.

Field Notes

Circa 1900, large English style barn with modified extended gable roof on West gable end. It was used as a dairy barn. It has vertical siding and asphalt roof shingles. A recently build pool house was built as a replica of a barn used only during the summer months.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Garden
• Other
• Shed

Environment features

• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The 1.85 acre property, Account number – 07406104 and Map-Block-Lot number - 074 061 04, is located towards the south of Fan Hill Road. The property is situated in a pre-dominantly residential area with individual plots separated by woodland. Residential plots can be seen towards the east, south, west and the north of the plot across the road while dense woodland covers the area towards the southwest.

The barn is located along the eastern edge of the property with its ridge line running east-west, parallel to this portion of Fan Hill Road. The circa 1800 colonial main residence is located towards the north of the barn, abutting to the road. A circa 2007 pool house can be seen towards the immediate southwest of the main residence and has similar character of the main barn. A swimming pool is located towards the west of the pool house while the property has open land towards the south. The property limits are demarcated by timber fence which cordon offs the pool area while a small garden can be seen towards the northeast of the main residence.

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Concrete Block
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Saltbox
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

Barn: 44 X 70 Sqft, Circa 1900; Pool: 20 X 40 Sqft, Circa 2005; Barn: 33 X 23 Sqft, Circa 2007;

Date Compiled

04/06/2011

Compiled By

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

Sources

Field notes and photographs provided by: Lee Hossler, 03/28/2007.

Assessors’ records retrieved on April 6th, 2011 from website http://monroe.univers-clt.com/ .

Assessors’ maps retrieved on April 6th, 2011 from website http://www.monroect.org/ .

Photograph/Information retrieved on April 6th, 2011 from website http://www.google.com

Photograph/Information retrieved on April 6th, 2011 from website http://www.bing.com.

Photograph/Information retrieved on April 6th, 2011 from website http://www.zillow.com.

Donohue, Mary, McCain, Diana Ross, Historic & Architectural Resource Survey of Monroe CT, Connecticut Historical Commission, 2002.

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.