Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• State Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is complex of three barns with their gable-ends attached to each other: the cross-gable roof Barn-I is located towards the east, Barn-II in the middle and Barn-II towards the west. The east gable-end of Barn-II is attached to the west gable-end of Barn-I while the east gable-end of Barn-III encompasses the entire length of the west gable-end of Barn-II. The north eave-side of Barn-I has a shed-roof addition towards the extreme east while the north eave-side of Barn-II also has a shed-roof addition at the center. The east gable-end of the main barn of Barn-I flush with the east eave-side of the cross-gable addition faces Miller Road. The ridge line of the main barn of the cross-gable-roof Barn-I runs east-west perpendicular to Miller Road while that of the cross-gable addition runs north-south. The ridge lines of Barn-II and Barn-III also runs east-west.

Barn-I: This is a 1 ½ - story cross-gable roof bank barn with entries from both the eave-side and the gable-end. The south eave-side of the main barn has the cross-gable addition encompassing the entire length while while the north eave-side has a shed-roof addition towards the extreme east. The ridge line of the main barn runs east-west perpendicular to Miller road while that of the cross-gable addition runs north-south. The east gable-end of the main barn flush with the east eave-side of the cross-gable addition and the east eave-side of the shed-roof addition facing the road is the main façade. The grade level along the east gable-façade of the main barn gradually declines towards the north along the cement plastered masonry foundation to form the bank level which is accessed by a hinged pass-through door towards the south. The façade has two six-pane windows towards the south of the pass-through door and three similar six-pane windows towards the north. The gable attic of the east gable-end of the main barn is separated by a distinct girt siding divide line and has a six-pane window insert at the center. The east eave-side of the shed-roof addition has a half-height entrance through a pair of exterior-hung horse-shoe track sliding doors. The south gable-end of the cross-gable-roof addition has two closely spaced six-pane windows at the center and a similar six-pane window towards either side. A hinged hay door can be seen above the windows off-centered towards the west while the grade level gradually declines towards the east. The gable attic lined by deep soffit is separated from the rest of the gable-end by a distinct girt siding divide line and has a six-pane window at the center. The south eave-side of the cross-gable addition has a similar six-pane window towards the west near the grade level.
The wooden frame of the barn is supported cement plastered masonry foundation. The barn has asphalt shingle roofing and red painted vertical siding walls.

Barn-II: This is a 1 ½ - story three-bay eave-entry barn with a shed-roof addition centered on its north eave-side. The ridge line of barn runs east-west parallel to Miller Road. The three-bay south eave-side of the barn is the main façade with the main entrance centered in the middle bay through a pair of double-height X-braced hinged wagon doors. The first bay from the east has a hinged blue painted pass-through door with blacksmith hardware towards the west and appears to have another hinged pass-through towards the east which is no longer operational. The grade level along the façade drops towards the west beyond the main entrance with the loose earth retained by un-coursed un-mortared field-stone masonry wall.  The first bay from the west is accessed from the low grade level by a pair of hinged wagon doors with a lintel trim. The west gable-end of the barn has Barn-III attached to it while the gable attic is separated from the rest of the gable-end by a distinct dropped girt siding divide line.
The wooden frame of the barn is supported on field stone masonry foundation. The barn has asphalt shingle roofing and red painted vertical siding walls with white trim.

Barn-III: This is a 1 ½ - story three-bay eave-entry bank barn with its east gable-end attached to the west gable-end of Barn-II. The ridge line of the barn runs east-west perpendicular to Miller Road. The three-bay south eave-side of the barn is the main façade with the main entrance centered in the middle bay through an exterior-hung hooded sliding wagon door flanked by a sixteen-pane window on its west. The grade level along the south eave-façade gradually declines towards the west wrapping the barn to form the bank along its west gable-end. The bank level of the west gable-end of the barn has mortared field stone masonry and is accessed by a pass-through door at the center with diagonal boards. The rest of the gable-end appears to be blank. The north eave-side of the barn has a small shed-roof addition off-centered towards the south while the grade level gradually inclines towards the east.
The wooden frame of the barn is supported on mortared field stone masonry foundation. The barn has asphalt shingle 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.

Field Notes

Listed on the State Register of Historic Places 2/06/2013 See photos of owner's notes for history and condition."Hoyt" is written in the shingles on the roof (4/13/2011).

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• animals, not listed

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Moved

Related features

• Barn
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Active Agriculture
• Open Land
• Residential
• Rural

Relationship to surroundings

The 2.2 acres property, Account number – 30139000 and MBLU number- 3/06 / 14/ / /, is located towards the west of Miller Road. The property is located in a sparsely populated residential area of rural character with individual plots separated by woodland. Residential plots can be seen towards the north, south and the east of the property across the road while the area towards the west is covered by dense woodland.

The barn complex is located in the northern halve of the property comprising of the three attached barns: Barn-I towards the east, Barn-II in the middle and Barn-II towards the west. The ridge line of the main barn of the cross-gable-roof Barn-I runs east-west perpendicular to Miller Road while that of the cross-gable addition runs north-south. The ridge lines of Barn-II and Barn-III also runs east-west. The property has a fenced area towards the north of the barn complex while the circa 1784 colonial main residence is located towards the south. A swimming pool is located towards the immediate west of the main residence while open land with stone walls can be seen towards further west. The building complex and the open land are surrounded by woodland along the fringes.

Building Typology

• English Bank

Materials

• Concrete
• Fieldstone
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

Barn: 1902 SqFt; Shed: 180 SqFt; Shed: 180 SqFt; Deck: 360 SqFt; Pool: 512 SqFt;

Date Compiled

05/23/2011

Compiled By

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

Sources

Field notes provided by: Ann Mazeau, 04/13/2011.

Assessors’ information retrieved on May 23rd, 2011 from website http://data.visionappraisal.com/BurlingtonCT/search.asp.

Photograph/Information retrieved on May 23rd, 2011 from website http://www.google.com

Photograph/Information retrieved on May 23rd, 2011 from website http://www.bing.com.

Photograph/Information retrieved on May 23rd, 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.