Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• Local Historic District
• National Register
• State Historic Resource Inventory
• State Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 2-½ story eave-entry barn with a gable roof. The main façade faces northeast, and the ridgeline runs northwest-southeast, roughly parallel to Judson Avenue which lies to the north.  Along the main façade from east to west is a pair of hinged doors constructed of vertical wood boards, a paneled pass-through door, and what appears to be another hinged pass-through door constructed of vertical wood boards.  On the east gable-end are four six-pane stable windows.  The two windows on the 1st floor have triangular-shaped pediments.  On the west gable-end, there are two six-pane stable windows with triangular-shaped pediments, and a four-pane stable window below the apex of the eave.  The exterior walls are covered with painted vertical board siding and there is a metal roof.  A girt-line siding divide is visible.  The foundation appears to be constructed of un-mortared fieldstone.

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.

Historical background:

“The Woodbury Historic District is a residential community bounded by open fields and woods. It has a variety of Colonial and Federal houses within it and includes a number of Greek Revival and Victorian buildings as well.

The Woodbury Historic district is significant because its architecture and historic sites embody the history of the area since the seventeenth century. Nearly every type of house from the time of settlement to 1828 can be found in the area and it has some interesting Victorian houses as well.”

Field Notes

Italian villa style house with small barn - noticeable deformation. Located in Woodbury North Historic District No. 1.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

No

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

n/a

Environment features

• Residential
• Scattered Buildings

Relationship to surroundings

This property is located on Judson Avenue in the Town of Woodbury in a historic residential and commercial area that has been nationally recognized for its significance.  The barn is located on a 2.0-acre parcel that also includes a c. 1850 Italianate house.

The main c. 1850 house lies to the northeast of the barn.  The main façade faces northeast.  This is a 2-story, 3-bay structure with a square plan and a hipped-roof topped with a square cupola featuring triple arched windows with trim.  The main entry is a single-story portico supported by columns.  Flanking the main entryway are two twined four-over-four double-hung sash windows.  On the second floor above are three four-over-four double-hung sash windows.  Along the east-end of the house is a projecting bay window with four four-over-four double hung sash windows, followed by two four-over-four double-hung sash windows and two French doors.  The 2nd story contains three four-over-four double-hung sash windows.  A single story extends southward from the bay window and wraps around the south side of the house.  The house appears to be covered in painted clapboard siding and the roof is covered with asphalt shingles.  To the south of the house there is a 2-story gable addition, and there is a 2-story gable addition with a 2-car garage to the east.

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Fieldstone
• Flush-board
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Tin

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

02/27/2011

Compiled By

E. Reisman & T. Levine; reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Charlotte R. Hitchcock.

Town of Woodbury, Connecticut GIS Viewer:  http://www.cogcnvgis.com/woodbury/AGS_MAP (Parcel ID: 036-039/1:  2.0 acres: c. 1850 house, 3,557 sq. ft.

Aerial Mapping:
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 02/27/2011.

Luyster, Constance, Woodbury North National Register District Nomination No. 71000908, National Park Service, 1971.

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.

“Woodbury: a Townscape,” Tony Wrenn, 1975, Preservation Press, Washington, D.C.