Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a set of two 1 1/2-story gable-entry tobacco sheds (only the closest is pictured). The ridge-lines of the sheds run roughly east-west and are parallel to this portion of Harrington Road, which runs approximately east-west. The north eave-side of shed I fronts Harrington Road while shed II is in the southern portion of the site, well to the south. Shed I has ten bents and three aisles. It has asphalt shingle roof and concrete piers for its foundation. Shed II has ten bents and two aisles. It has asphalt shingle roof and concrete piers for its foundation. Both sheds have the standard tobacco shed arrangement; one or two pairs of hinged swinging doors in the gable-facades and a ventilation system in the eave-facades. The ventilation system for the two tobacco sheds are vertical 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 many boards at once, and metal prop hooks to hold the boards in place.

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.

Tobacco shed ventilation is accomplished using one of four different systems (more than one method may be utilized in a single shed):

a) Vertical 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 many boards at once, and metal prop hooks to hold the boards in place;

b) Vertical siding in which alternate boards are hinged along the sides to open like tall narrow doors;

c) Less commonly, horizontal siding in which alternate boards are hinged along the top edge and open like long narrow awnings;

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.

Field Notes

n/a

Use (Historic)

• tobacco

Use (Present)

• tobacco

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Garage
• Shed

Environment features

• Active Agriculture
• Open Land
• Residential
• Rural
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

Shed I is besides and to the west of the house it is associated with. The ridge-line of the house is perpendicular to the ridge-line of the sheds. To the east of the house is a small garage. To the south of the house is a large tract of open space. West of shed I Rice Road meets Harrington Road resulting in a V intersection. Rice Road continues to the west, while Harrington Road ends. To the southwest of shed I is the larger shed II in the south portion of the 17.70 acre site. Further south is woodland. The area surrounding the site is residential, active agriculture, open space and woodland.

OB. Construct OB. Desc Year Sq. Ft.
FRAME       GARAGE 1937 252
FRAME         BARN 1900 4608
FRAME         BARN 1900 2592
AVERAGE SHED   SHED 1900 512

Building Typology

• Tobacco Shed

Materials

• Concrete
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

n/a

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

Shed I 2592 sf Shed II 4608 sf

Date Compiled

08/26/2010

Compiled By

Todd Levine, reviewed by the Connecticut Trust

Sources

Photographs by Todd Levine.

Map of East Windsor, CT, retrieved on August 26, 2010 from website 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, 213 pages.

The Capitol Region Council of Governments website. http://www.crcog.org/gissearch/

eQuality Valuation Services, LLC Database. http://www.eastwindsor-ct.gov/Public_Documents/EWindsorCT_Assessor/index.