Newton Farm (600 Village Street, North Branford (Central Valley))

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 1/2-story eave-entry bank barn with a gable-roofed addition. The main facade faces north and the ridge-line of the barn is perpendicular to this portion of Village Road, which runs north-south. The road turns sharply to the east just north of the barn. The main entry is a pair of double-height, exterior sliding doors in the center bay of the north eave-facade of the barn. The entry is accessed by an earthen ramp with field-stone ends. The mortared field-stone foundation is exposed. On each side of the entry, in the foundation, are two sets of three nine-pane windows. The rest of the facade is blank. Extending east from the east gable-end of the barn is a gable-roofed addition, with its north eave-side flush with the main facade of the barn. The addition encompasses most of the north half of the east gable-end of the barn. The grade declines slightly, revealing a basement level. Centered in the basement level of the east gable-end of the barn is an exterior sliding pass-through doors, with its tracks extending south. South of the door are two six-pane windows. The rest of the east gable-end is blank except for a six-pane window beneath the apex of the roof in the gable attic. The south eave-side of the barn has a series of ten six-pane windows in the basement level. Below the windows is the exposed field-stone foundation. The rest of south eave-side of the barn is blank except for a pair of centered swinging hinged hay doors with black-smithed hardware on the main level. Centered in the basement level of the west gable-end of the barn is an exterior sliding pass-through door, with its track extending south. South of the door are two six-pane windows. North of the door is a single six-pane window with a possible second window towards the northwest corner, behind the base of two silos. The grade inclines slightly towards the northwest corner. The barn has vertical flush-board siding painted red and the windows have white trim, except for the east gable-end, which has board-and-batten siding painted red. The roof has a projecting overhang and is covered with asphalt shingles. Centered atop the ridge is a cupola. The foundation is mortared field-stone.

Gable-roofed addition: the north eave-side of the addition has a set of three six-pane windows in the foundation and two six-pane windows on the main level. The east gable-end of the addition has a hooded exterior sliding pass-through door towards the north corner, accessed by a set of wood steps. The grade declines slightly revealing a basement level. The south eave-side of the addition has a Dutch door towards the east corner and an exterior sliding pass-through door towards the west corner in the basement level. There are two six-pane windows on the main level. The addition has thin vertical siding painted red and the windows have white trim. The roof has a projecting overhang and is covered with asphalt shingles. The foundation is mortared field-stone.

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.

The 19th century saw the introduction of a basement under the barn to allow for the easy collection and storage of a winter’s worth of manure from the animals sheltered within the building. The bank barn is characterized by the location of its main floor above grade, either through building into a hillside or by raising the building on a foundation. This innovation, aided by the introduction of windows for light and ventilation, would eventually be joined by the introduction of space to shelter more animals under the main floor of the barn.

Field Notes

Farmhouse date: 1770 (plaque on front wall). Large red English barn (No. 1) to south, second barn or shed, and third white English barn (No. 3) or tobacco shed to north of house.

Use (Historic)

agriculture

Use (Present)

agriculture

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

1

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

The barn sits on a 45.50 acre site adjacent to a bend in Village road, where it turns east. The barn is centered in a rectangular, fenced off area, which looks to be approximately 4 acres. To the east of the barn is a small shed. To the north of the barn is a long wagon shed. To the south is a large tract of land. to the west is a large tract of land, which woodland further west. The area surrounding the site is scattered residential, active agriculture, open space and woodland.

BRN3 BARN 1 STY W/LOFT 2388 S.F. 22700
BRN8 POLE BARN 726 S.F. 3900
BRN1 BARN - 1 STORY 2640 S.F. 17100
SHD1 SHED FRAME 276 S.F. 1300

Parcel ID : 64/A 9/ / / /

Building Typology

English Bank

Materials

Approximate Dimensions

2388 S.F.

Date Compiled

12/10/2010

Compiled By

Todd Levine, reviewed by the Connecticut Trust

Sources

Photographs and field notes by Charlotte R. Hitchcock.

Map of North Branford, CT, retrieved on December 10, 2010 from website www.bing.com.

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

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.

Vision Appraisal Online Database. www.visionappraisal.com/northbranfordct.

Historic Barns of Connecticut

Barn Record North Branford