Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½-story eave-entry bank barn.  The primary façade of this barn faces north, toward Echo Valley Road, which runs east-to-west in front of this property.  The ridgeline is parallel to the street.  A smaller, 1 ½-story gable-roof bank addition extends off the east side of the main barn, and is also oriented parallel to the street.

The primary façade is three bays in width and includes two entries.  At the extreme east end of the north eave-façade of the barn is a hinged wooden pass-through door.  Centered in the façade is a pair of double-height sliding doors.  An overhead garage door is recessed behind the sliding doors.  A single exterior lamp is centered and mounted on the gutter.  The rest of this façade is blank.  The west gable-end of the barn features a pair of 9-light window openings with trim on the first story.  The gable attic also has a pair of windows, spaced much closer together, each with 6-lights.  A small circular window with interior cross shaped muntins is present just below the roof ridgeline.  The ground slopes down from the north corner to the south corner on this side, which exposes the mortared fieldstone foundation.  The south eave-side of the barn shows the full height of the main barn and fully exposed lower level.  Three 6-light windows, of the same dimensions as those found on the upper story of the gable ends but oriented vertically, are present on the first story, one centered in each bay, all with trim.  The lower level has a single hinged pass-through door present at the extreme east end.  A small 9-light window with no trim is present just to the west of this door.  The remainder of this side is blank.  The east gable-end also shows the exposed mortared fieldstone foundation along the lower level.  A single 6-light window with trim is present on the main story in the southern half.  A 6-light window with trim is also present in the southern half of the gable attic.  A small circular window identical to the one on the west side is present just below the roof ridgeline.

A 1 ½-story gable-roofed bank addition is present extending off the east gable-end of the main barn.  This addition is of parallel orientation and the stories are offset in height from those of the main barn.  The south eave-side features a large shed roof dormer which extends nearly the full-length of this side.  Within this dormer are three runs of double-hung 4-over-4 windows, each with trim.  The main story features a vertically-oriented double-hung window with 6-over-6 light pattern near the southeast corner.  A small off-center portion of this story is recessed, and appears to have a pass-through door within.  A run of three stationary 9-light windows is present on the western half of this south side.  A 6-light window with trim is present centered above the recessed portion of the first story.  The east gabled-end of the addition features one 6-over-6 double hung window with trim centered on the main story, and a centered 6-light window with trim centered in the gable attic.  The north eave-side appears to be blank.
The exterior of this structure is clad in vertical wooden flush-board, painted red.  All trim is painted white.  The gable roof is clad in gray asphalt shingling.  The exterior cladding, trim, and roof materials on the addition compliment the main barn.  The entire structure appears to have been converted into a residence.

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

Barn construction: 1848, converted to residential use. House across the street at No.65 (1800) may have been the original farmhouse, now a separate ownership. Sources: "Touring Newtown’s Past: the Settlement and Architecture of an Old Connecticut Town;" Mary Mitchell and Albert Goodrich, Newtown Historical Society, Newtown, Connecticut, 1996, p. 37, 122-3 pre-1826 House Inventory. Newtown Assessor’s Records.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• residence

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Scattered Buildings
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

This barn is situated parallel to Echo Valley Road and the primary façade faces north.  The barn is built into the side of a hill which slopes downward to the south from Echo Valley Road.  The farmhouse associated with this barn is located just to the north of the barn, across the street.  A small gravel driveway leads from the sliding oversize doors to the road.  A raised stone wall extends to the west from the northwest corner along the line of the main façade.  Additional raised stone walls are present to the south and east of the addition to this barn.  Albert Hill Road makes a sharp turn to the southeast just to the east of this barn.  East of the road and beyond a stretch of woodland is the lower end of Lake Lillinonah.  Just to the north of the barn is the Paugussett State Forest.  The area immediately surrounding the barn is primarily woodland (mixed deciduous and coniferous), with some residential scattered within.

Building Typology

• English Bank

Materials

• Flush-board
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

n/a

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

Dimensions: First Floor 1441 Finished Half Story 288 Finished Upper Story 910 Main Barn: 35' x 26' Finish Area Lump Sum 2503 Source: Newtown Assessor's Records.

Date Compiled

02/10/2011

Compiled By

N. Nietering & T. Levine, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Charlotte Hitchcock - 4/13/2008

Sexton, James, PhD; Survey Narrative of the Connecticut Barn, Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, Hamden, CT, 2005, http://www.connecticutbarns.org/history.

“Touring Newtown’s Past: the Settlement and Architecture of an Old Connecticut Town;” Mary Mitchell and Albert Goodrich, Newtown Historical Society, Newtown, Connecticut, 1996, p. 37, 122-3.

Visser, Thomas D.,Field Guide to New England Barns and Farm Buildings, University Press of New England, 1997, 213 pages.

Map of Newtown, CT, retrieved on February 2, 2011 from website www.bing.com.

Newtown Assessor’s Records - Vision Appraisal online - http://data.visionappraisal.com/NewtownCT