Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• State Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 1/2-story, tripartite eave-entry barn with a lean-to. The main facade faces north and the ridge-line of the barn is perpendicular to this portion of Woodchuck Lane, which runs north-south. The main entry is a pair of exterior sliding doors in the middle of three bays. The rest of the north eave-facade is blank. The west gable-end of the has a pass-through door off-center to the south and three six-pane windows with trim; two to the north of the door and one to the south of the door. Centered in the gable attic is a hay door with trim. The grade declines slightly to south, revealing an un-mortared field-stone foundation. The south eave-side of the barn has two sets of two six-pane windows in the west bay, two sets of two single-pane windows in the middle bay and one set of two single-pane windows and a pass-through Dutch door in the east bay with the door closest to the corner. The un-mortared field-stone foundation is prominent and the pass through is accessed by an earthen ramp. The east gable-end of the barn has four sets of two windows: the southernmost set and the northernmost window each have six-panes; the rest have single-panes. Centered in the gable attic is a set of two recessed six-pane windows with trim. A lean-to extends to the east at the northeast corner of the east gable-end of the barn. The barn has unpainted vertical flush-board siding. The roof has a slight projecting overhang and exposed rafter tails. The foundation is un-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.

Field Notes

Listed on the State Register of Historic Places 11/06/2013. 2009 Barns Grant pre-app.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• equestrian

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Other
• Shed
• Stone Walls

Environment features

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

Relationship to surroundings

The barn is behind and to the east of the c. 1760 house it is associated with. The ridge-line of the front facade of the house is perpendicular to the ridge-line of the barn. In front of the house to the west, parallel to Woodchuck Road, are stone walls. A driveway south of the house accesses the property and wraps around to the garage, which is attached to the house to the east. A yard separates the house from the barn to the east. Just south of the barn is a gable-roofed shed. To the southwest, south, and east are fenced in paddocks. Further east is woodland. To the north of the barn is a gable-roofed two-bay open shed. The total size of the site is 15 acres. The area surrounding the site is active agriculture, residential, open space and woodland.

MBLU : E7/ 02/ 0004/ /

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Fieldstone
• Flush-board
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

32' x 46'

Date Compiled

11/19/2010

Compiled By

Todd Levine, reviewed by the Connecticut Trust

Sources

Photographs by Scott Ragaglia.

Map of Harwinton, CT, retrieved on November 19, 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.

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