Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• National Register
• State Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 1/2-story, tripartite carriage barn. The main facade faces northeast and the ridge-line of the shed is perpendicular to this portion of Quaker Farms road, which runs northeast-southwest. The main entries are two open bays in the middle and north bay of the northeast eave-facade. The openings are beveled at the top and have trim. The west bay has pass-through door by the west corner and a six-pane window towards the middle bay. The southeast gable-end of the carriage barn has a centered side-hinged hay door with wrought iron blacksmithed hardware. The rest of the gable-end is blank. The grade declines to the west, revealing an um-mortared foundation. The southwest eave-side of the carriage barn has a pass-through door at the south corner. The shed has vertical siding on the eave-sides and horizontal siding on the gable-ends. The roof is partially covered with a tarp and has wood shingles on the visible portion. The foundation is un-mortared field-stone.

Historical significance:

Until the 1830s, the horses used for riding and driving carriages were often kept in the main barn along with the other farm animals. By the 1850s, some New England farmers built separate horse stables and carriage houses. Early carriage houses were built just to shelter a carriage and perhaps a sleigh, but no horses. The pre-cursor to the twentieth-century garage, these outbuildings are distinguished by their large hinged doors, few windows, and proximity to the dooryard. The combined horse stable and carriage house continued to be a common farm building through the second half of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, until automobiles became common. Elaborate carriage houses were also associated with gentlemen farms and country estates of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Another form of carriage barn, the urban livery stable, served the needs of tradespeople.

Field Notes

The proprietors of the local mills built twin houses before 1799. The State of CT demolished one of these in Southford Falls State Park. The remaining house, home of First Selectman T. F. Wheeler, along with the barn and wheelwright shop, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Information source: Owner's grant pre-application 3/14/08"The boundaries of the nominated property include all the land and buildings still associated with the Adin Wheeler House and the Theodore F. Wheeler Wheelwright Shop". Excerpt from NR listing

Use (Historic)

• equestrian

Use (Present)

• carriage barn

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Shop
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Residential
• Rural
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The carriage house is next to and to the southwest of the c 1795 Adin Wheeler House it is associated with. The ridge-line of the house is perpendicular to the ridge-line of the carriage house. To the southeast of the carriage house is the Theodore F. To the northwest of the house is a driveway which leads to the carriage house. The total size of the current site is 1.19 acres. A stone wall demarcates the north and east border of the site. The area surrounding the site is residential, recreational and woodland, with Southford Falls State Park to the west. “The Adin Wheeler House and Theodore F. Wheeler Wheelwright Shop are associated buildings located in the eastern part of the Town of Southbury, just south of the village center of Southford. They are sited together on the same property on the southeast side of Quaker Farms Road. The main block of the house sits on fairly level ground but the rest of the lot slopes away from the road. The wheelwright shop and an associated barn are located
alongside each other to the south and below the grade of the house. To the rear of the property, Eight Mile Brook forms the border with the Town of Oxford. Downstream to the southeast is Southford Falls State Park, which contains the sites of early industries historically associated with this property.” Excerpt from the NR nomination.

Map/block/parcel #54-12-C2

FRAME BARN 1850 648
FRAME BARN 1850 992

Building Typology

• Carriage House

Materials

• Clapboard
• Fieldstone
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Post & Beam
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Wood Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

36 ft x 18 ft

Date Compiled

03/14/2008

Compiled By

Todd Levine, reviewed by the Connecticut Trust

Sources

Photographs by field notes by John Dwyer.

Map of Southbury, CT, retrieved on December 2, 2010 from website www.zillow.com.

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.

eQuality Valuation Services, LLC Database. http://www.equalitycama.com/tvweb/MainSearch.aspx?city=Southbury.

Cunningham, Jan, National Register of Historic Places Nomination #419971, Wheeler, Adin, House and Theodore F. Wheeler Wheelwright Shop, 1982. Item No. 93000661 NRIS (National Register Information System)
http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/93000661.pdf
http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Photos/93000661.pdf