495 Main Street South (Rte 6), Woodbury (Western Uplands)

Designations

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

There are two structures of note.

Structure I is a 1 ½ story, eave-entry barn with a gable roof and a shed-roof addition to the north. The main façade faces west and the ridgeline runs north-south, parallel to Main Street which runs to the west. Along the main façade of the barn are two large sliding doors constructed of vertical boards mounted on an external track that spans the entire length of the main facade. Along the south gable-end of the barn is a stable window right below the apex of the gable. On the north gable end there appears to be five stable windows with trim. The exterior walls are covered with vertical board siding painted red with white trim and corner boards. The roof is covered with wood shingles.

Structure II is located to the northeast of Structure I. It is a 2 ½ story, eave-entry structure with a gable roof. The main façade faces southwest, and the ridgeline runs northwest-southeast. There are two gable-roof additions on the northwest gable-end of the structure. Proceeding from southeast to northwest along the main façade, there is a four-pane awning window with trim, a pair of wood-paneled pass-through doors with nine panes each that serve as the principal entry, and another awning window with four-panes and trim. There is a pent-roof awning covered with asphalt shingles above the main entrance. Further northwest is a 6/6 double-hung sash window with trim. Moving further north along the additions of the barn there is a pass-through door and three windows with trim. The second story of the main façade of the original structure is cantilevered outward from the first floor, and contains two four-pane awning windows and two eight-pane awning windows with trim. On the southeast gable-end of the barn there are three windows with trim and what appears to be a pass-through door at the eastern corner. On the second story of the northwest gable-end of the original structure there are two awning windows with four-panes and trim. The exterior walls are covered with vertical board siding painted red with white trim and corner boards, and a girt-line siding divide appears to be visible along the northwest gable end. The roof is covered with asphalt shingles.

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

Located in Woodbury South Historic District #1. Large English barn and smaller building used as retail shop.

Use (Historic)

agriculture

Use (Present)

retail

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

No

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

Shed

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

This property is located on South Main Street 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 1.01-acre parcel that also includes a c.1745 house with Greek Revival details that were likely added sometime during the 19th century.

The main house is located to the west of structures I and II. It is a 2 ½ story, 3-bay structure with a square-plan and a gable-roof. Its main façade faces west and its ridgeline runs north-south, parallel to the road. To the south and east of the main structure are several gable and shed-roof additions. Principal entry is provided by a Greek Revival style entry consisting of a wood-paneled door flanked by six-pane sidelights and a transom with four-panes, as well as a door surround consisting of an entablature supported by Doric pilasters. To the north of the entrance are two 12/12 double-hung sash windows with trim and wood shudders. There are three identical windows on the second story of the original structure. There is a dentil course cornice. To the south of the main structure is a gable-roof addition, its ridgeline orientation corresponding to that of the original structure. Along the main façade of this addition are three 12/12 double-hung sash windows with trim and shudders. There is a small shed-roof addition protruding from the south gable-end of the gable-roof addition. The shed-roof addition contains four 12/12 double-hung sash windows with trim. On the south gable-end of the gable-roof addition are two 4/4 double-hung sash windows with trim and a rectangular window. To the east of the additions is another gable-roof addition, its ridgeline running perpendicular to that of the original structure. Along its south eave-side there appears to be pass-trough door and a sash window with trim. The walls are covered in painted clapboard siding. The roof appears to be covered in wood shingles.

Building Typology

English

Materials

Approximate Dimensions

Large English barn and smaller building re-used as retail shop.Structure II: 2,207 sq. ft.

Date Compiled

03/15/2011

Compiled By

Eric Reisman & Todd Levine, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Charlotte Hitchcock, 4/21/2008.

Town of Woodbury, Connecticut GIS Viewer http://www.cogcnvgis.com/woodbury/AGS_MAP (Parcel ID: 103-043: 1.01 acres: c. 1745 house, 2,796 sq. ft., c. 1910 store, 2,207 sq. ft.)

Aerial Mapping:
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 03/07/2011.

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.

Local Historic District - Woodbury Historic District #1.

Historic Barns of Connecticut

Barn Record Woodbury