1775 Barn American Antiques (994 Main Street South (Rte 6), Woodbury (Western Uplands))

Designations

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1-½ story, eave-entry barn with a gable roof and multiple additions. The main façade faces east and the ridgeline runs north-south, about parallel to Main Street South which lies to the east. Encompassing the entire width of the south gable-end of the barn is a single-story addition with a shed-roof. On the northern corner of the main east eave-façade is a gable-roof addition with its ridgeline running east-west, perpendicular to the original structure. On the north eave-side of the gable-roof addition, there is another gable-roof addition, the ridgeline running parallel to that of the main structure. From south to north along the main east eave-façade of the barn, there is a hinged pass-through door constructed of vertical wood boards, and a six-pane stable window. A pair of French doors with fifteen-panes serves as the principle entry, above which is a twelve-pane transom light. Proceeding to the gable-roof addition, there appears to be a pair of hinged stable-doors. On the south gable-end of the barn there are two pairs of twined stable windows with six-panes and trim on the shed-roof addition, and a shed-roof projects out from the addition, sheltering a dug-out storage area under grade, lined with fieldstones. Below the apex of the gable on the original structure is a pair of six-over-six double-hung sash windows with trim. Proceeding further east to the gable-roof addition that lies perpendicular to the original structure, there are three bays; the westernmost bay containing a six-pane stable window with trim, while the two other bays are open. Along the west eave-side of the original structure appears to be three stable windows with trim. The walls are covered with painted vertical board siding. A girt-line siding divide is visible on the gable-end of the addition that runs perpendicular to the original structure. The roof is covered with asphalt shingles. The foundation, where visible, appears to be unmortared 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.

Distinguished by the long shed or gable roof and the row of large openings along the eave side, the typical wagon shed was often built as a separate structure or as a wing connected to the farmhouse or the barn. These open-bay structures protect farm vehicles and equipment from the weather and provide shelter for doing small repairs and maintenance.

Historical background:

“The Woodbury Historic District is a residential area, bounded by open fields and woods. Its southern, boundary line is the town line of Woodbury and Southbury, where Southbury’s Historic District begins, creating an unbroken stretch of three miles along U.S. Route 6 where houses built before 1828 predominate. Some of Woodbury’s finest old homes lie in the one-mile district between the town line and the commercial area, the District’s northern boundary.

The Woodbury Historic District #2 is a continuation of Southbury’s Historic District and extends north to the commercial area, beyond which lies Woodbury Historic District #1. The second Historic District is important because if s architecture and historic sites embody the history of the area since the seventeenth, century.”

“Happy Meadows,” owned by the Moeckels; number 15 on the plot map. (enclosed). On the west side of Route 6, facing east. The main portion of this house is square and has interesting asymmetry. Its off-center front entry is sheltered by a small portico standing on Roman Doric columns. The door is 8-paneled and has large sidelights with muntins, creating smaller panes. An overhang runs around the entire main portion at the top of the first floor and is also at the top of the second floor at the gable ends. Beneath the eaves is a row of tryglyphs and metopes in the cornice. The windows are proper twelve over twelve sash at the first and second floors and twelve over eight in the attic. There are several wings to the rear and a long, one and a half-story wing to the south side, becoming one-story at the farther end, indicating accretions over the years. Near the main part of the house, the wing’s roof shingles appear to be of same age as those of the house proper, while at the farther end they are only slightly weathered and obviously of more recent date. The grounds of the property are attractive, bordered by a white picket fence and many trees.”

Field Notes

Located in Woodbury South Historic District No. 2. Date of house: 1741-88. Barn altered for business use.

Use (Historic)

agriculture

Use (Present)

retail

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

No

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

n/a

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

This property is located on South Main Street to the south of 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 14.46-acre parcel that also includes a c.1775 house, and large expanses of open fields and woods.

The c. 1775 house is located to the southeast of the barn. It is a 2-½ story, eave-entry, 3-bay structure with a square plan and a gable-roof. There are several additions to the southwest of the original structure. The walls are covered in painted clapboard siding and the roof appears to be covered with asphalt shingles. (See ‘Historical Background’ for additional information).

Building Typology

Materials

Approximate Dimensions

1,900 sq. ft.

Date Compiled

04/21/2008

Compiled By

Eric Reisman & Todd Levine, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

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

Town of Woodbury, Connecticut GIS Viewer http://www.cogcnvgis.com/woodbury/AGS_MAP (Parcel ID: 032-009/2: 14.46-acres: c. 1775 house, 3,931 sq. ft.; barn, 1,900 sq. ft.)

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

Babbitt, Susan, Woodbury South National Register District Nomination No. 72001326, National Park Service, 1972.

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.

Local Historic District - Woodbury Historic District #2.

Historic Barns of Connecticut

Barn Record Woodbury