Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• National Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½ - story gable-entry barn with a gable-roof pole barn attached to its south eave-side towards the east. The barn also has a shed-roof addition on it south eave-side towards the west. The north eave-side of the barn faces Melrose Road while its ridge line runs east-west parallel to the road. The east gable-side of the barn is the main façade with the main double-height entrance at the center spanning the entire length of the façade. The north eave-side of the barn has an entrance towards the west through a Z-braced exterior-hung sliding wagon door with an over-hang above.  The north gable-side of the barn originally appears to have two entrances through two pairs of double-height hinged wagon doors which are presently boarded. The west gable-side of the barn has a pass-through door towards the northern edge while five closely-spaced square stable windows can be seen towards the south. The gable-attic above is separated from the rest of the gable-side by a distinct siding divide line and has a twelve-pane window insert just below the apex of the roof.
The wooden frame of the barn is supported on cement plastered masonry foundation and has asphalt shingle roofing. The barn has vertical siding on all sides apart from the west gable-side which has board-and-batten siding.

The south gable-side of the pole barn attached to the south eave-side of the main barn is its main façade with the main entrance through open bays. The ridge line of the pole barn runs north-south perpendicular to that of the main barn.

A detached concrete silo with a hemi-spherical roof can be seen towards the north-eastern corner of the barn.

Historical significance:

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. With the main drive floor running parallel to the ridge, the size of the barn could be increased to accommodate larger herds by adding additional bays to the rear gable end. 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, as both types continued to be built.

Most ground-level stable barns and free-stall dairy barns built since the 1970s have no hayloft. Instead, the roofs are supported by prefabricated wooden trusses covered with metal roofing. While most single-story truss-roofed barns in New England are constructed with concrete foundations and stud-framed walls, pole barns with open sides are becoming popular, especially for sheltering large herds of dairy cows, heifers, and beef cattle. Many of these large truss-roofed structures are free-stall barns, introduced in the late 1940s.

Cement silos were sometimes poured in place in one piece, but the more common practice was to pour large interlocking rings that were then stacked. As with wooden stave silos, the structures are held together with adjustable steel hoops, spaced about fifteen inches apart. Since concrete does not expand and contract with changes in moisture levels, the hoops on concrete stave silos were usually tightened only once after the structure was built. Inside, these silos are coated with a cement wash.

Field Notes

Street Number approximate - southeast corner of Melrose and Broad Brook Roads. Melrose National Register Historic District.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Shed
• Silo

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Rural
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The 82.46 acres property, Map number - 10 44 014, land with out-buildings, is located towards the east of Broad Brook Road and the south of Melrose Road. It is situated in a pre-dominantly residential area of rural character with residential plots towards the north-west and north, across Melrose Road. Parcels of open land and dense woodland can be seen towards the south of the property. Parcels of farmland can also be seen towards the west, across Broad Brook Road.

The barn is part of a barn complex towards the north of the property. The main barn is located in the north-western corner of the barn complex, abutting to Melrose Road, with a 1 1/2 - story pole barn attached to its south eave-side. The ridge line of the main barn runs east-west parallel to the road while that of the pole barn runs north-south. A concrete silo is located immediately towards the north-east of the main barn. A small 1 ½-story gable-entry barn can be seen towards further south of the main barn. Another 1 ½ -story eave-entry barn with its ridge line running east-west can be seen towards the east of the main barn. An elongated gable-roof shed with a parallel ridge line can be seen towards the south of the above barn. 

Building Typology

• New England
• Pole

Materials

• Board & Batten
• Concrete
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

Barn: 3344 SqFt, Circa 1900 Shed: 660 SqFt, Circa 1900 Barn: 5360 SqFt, Circa 1900

Date Compiled

11/10/2010

Compiled By

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

Sources

Assessors’ records retrieved on November 10th, 2010 from website http://www.equalitycama.com/ 

GIS information retrieved on November 10th, 2010 from website http://www.crcog.org/gissearch/

Photograph/Information retrieved on November 10th, 2010 from website http://www.google.com

Information retrieved on November 10th, 2010 from website http://www.zillow.com

Melrose National Register Historic District.

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.