Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• State Historic Resource Inventory

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

The builder seems to have gone to great length to span the ground floor space with the fewest possible supports, perhaps to accommodate cars.

The building is constructed with a sawn, square-rule frame that incorporates iron rods and elaborate bracing.  The tiebeams are supported by rising braces which spring from braces falling from the posts and girts.  The floor joists are un-housed, simply resting on top of the girts.

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

n/a

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• garage

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Original Site

Related features

n/a

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Scattered Buildings
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

This building sits to the side of the main house on the property and quite close to the road.

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Flush-board
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Post & Beam
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

20 x 30

Date Compiled

06/30/2011

Compiled By

James Sexton, PhD - KY

Sources

Sexton, James, The Town of Redding Historic Outbuildings Survey, April, 2011.

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.

Redding Assessor’s Database:
http://data.visionappraisal.com/ReddingCT/search.asp - 4/30/2011.

Aerial Mapping:
http://www.bing.com/maps - 4/30/2011.