Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• National Register
• State Historic Resource Inventory
• State Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 1/2-story gable entry barn with a number of additions. The main facade faces west and the ridge-line of the barn is perpendicular to this portion of Devotion Road, which runs north-south. The main entry is a pair of exterior swinging hinged, double-height doors in the center of the west gable-facade. The rest of the facade is blank except for what appears to be a one-over-four double-hung window just beneath the apex of the roof. Extending to the north and encompassing the entire width of the north eave-side of the barn is a shed-roofed addition. The sides of the addition are flush with the gable sides of the barn. The west side of the addition has a pass-through door. The east gable-side of the barn has a centered pair of exterior swinging hinged, double-height doors with what appears to be wrought iron original hardware. Just beneath the apex of the roof is an opening, now boarded. The south eave-side of the barn has a shed-roofed addition and a gable roofed addition. The eave-side of the gable-roofed addition faces west and is set back slightly from the west-facade of the main structure. The shed-roofed addition extends to the south and its east side is flush with the east gable-side of the main strcuture. The shed-roofed addition has fallen in on itself. The gable-roofed addition extends to the south. The west eave-side of the addition is blank except for a pass-through door towards the main structure. The east eave-side of the addition has four open bays. The south gable-side of the addition is attached to another gable-roofed addition, a carriage house with a saltbox roof. The west eave-side of the carriage house has a pass-through door to the north and a pair of exterior swinging hinged doors towards the south. The south gable-side of the carriage house has a twelve-pane window in the gable attic. The barn has vertical board painted white. The gable attic of the west gable-facade appears on painted. The space between the eave and the shed-roofed addition in the north eave-side of the barn has wood shingles, painted white. The carriage house has clapboards on its west eave-side. The roof is covered with asphalt shingles. The foundation is un-mortared field-stone and concrete.

Historical significance:

The New England barn or gable front barn was the successor to the English barn and relies on a gable entry rather than an entry under the eaves. The gable front offers many practical advantages. Roofs drain off the side, rather than flooding the dooryard. With the main drive floor running parallel to the ridge, the size of the barn could be increased to accommodate larger herds by adding additional bays to the rear gable end. Although it was seen by many as an improvement over the earlier side-entry English Barn, the New England barn did not replace its predecessor but rather coexisted with it, as both types continued to be built.

Field Notes

Important to streetscape and character of Scotland. Still in agricultural use. The Scotland historical Society and the Town of Scotland Open Space Committee believe the barn and farm buildings are central to Scotland's streetscape and character. 2010 Barns Grant recipient.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• agriculture

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Carriage House
• Garage
• Garden
• Shop
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Active Agriculture
• Open Land
• Rural
• Scattered Buildings
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The barn structure is located on Devotion Road/Route 97 south. The barn is across the road and well to the north of the house it is associated with. A gable-roofed strucutre and a small shed-roofed strcuture are just south of the main barn. A stone wall extends south, starting at the southwest corner of the carriage house and ends adjacent to the gable-roofed structure. The lot extends to the east as tracts of open space and woodland. The total size of the site is 28.26 acres. The area surrounding the site is residential, active agriculture, open space ans woodland.

m/b/p = 21//25//24

Building Typology

• New England

Materials

• Concrete
• Fieldstone
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Post & Beam
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

Large NE barn: 70 ft x 50 ft. Also a second English type barn, smaller.

Date Compiled

11/05/2010

Compiled By

Todd Levine, reviewed by the Connecticut Trust

Sources

Photographs and field notes by James Naumec - 2/10/2009.

Additional field notes and photographs by Kevin P. Ring, Sr. - 6/16/2011.

The Windham Region Council of Governments GIS website: www.wincog-gis.org/

Map of Scotland, CT, retrieved on November 9, 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.

Cunningham, Jan, Scotland Center Historic District National Register Nomination No. 93001377, National Park Service, 1993.