Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• State Historic Resource Inventory
• State Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 1/2-story eave-entry, cross-gable barn with a cross-gable addition, resulting in a T-shaped structure. The cross-gable addition extends north from the center of the barn. The main facades face south and the ridge-line of the barn is parallel to this portion of Sterling Road, which runs approximately east-west. The main entries are two pairs of swinging hinged doors in the cross-gable wall, centered in the south eave-facade of the barn. Each pair of doors has trim and a pedimented head. Flanking the entry are six-over-six double-hung windows with trim and a pedimented head. Centered above the entries is a single six-over-six double-hung window with trim and a pedimented head in the cross-gable. Above the window is a sign, with trim and a pedimented head, with the date “1870.” To the west of the cross-gable is a beveled bay with sheathing. Within the sheathing is an overhead garage door towards the west corner and a pass-through door towards the center. Above the bay is trim and a pedimented head. To the east of the cross gable is a pass-through door flanked by six-over-six double-hung windows, all three with trim and pediment heads. The grade declines slightly toward the southeast corner revealing an un-mortared field-stone foundation. The east gable-end of the barn has a centered pass-through door, accessed by a set of wood stairs, and a six-over-six double-hung window above. Both door and window have trim and a pedimented head. Centered in the north eave-side of the barn and extending to the north is the cross-gable addition. The north eave-side of the barn has a series of three six-pane window with trim east of the cross-gable addition. Additionally, there are two recessed hay/access doors; one above and one below the middle of three windows. West of the cross-gable addition on the north eave-side of the barn appears blank. The west gable-end of the barn is blank except for a six-over-six double-hung window with trim and a pedimented head in the gable attic. The barn has vertical board siding painted white with maroon trim and corner-boards. The roof has a projecting overhang and is covered with asphalt shingles. Nestled atop the cross-gable is a large cupola.

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 first ventilators were simple wooden louvered boxes with gable roofs, mounted near the ridge of the barn. The successor to the ventilator was the more romantic cupola. Coinciding with the Italianate style of domestic architecture popular during the mid-nineteenth century, the room-sized cupola, embellished with decorative brackets and a copper weathervane, became a symbol of modern farming during the early Victorian era. The object of the cupola is to protect the opening of the flue from the elements, keep out birds, prevent back drafts as far as possible, and assist in drawing the foul air from the barn. The cupola was replaced in the early twentieth century by the factory-produced steel ventilator, symbolizing another step in the movement towards an industrial approach to farming.

Field Notes

Listed on the State Register of Historic Places, June 3, 2013. 2009 Barns Grant pre-application.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• agriculture

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

No

Location Integrity

Original Site

Related features

• Barn
• Other
• Shed

Environment features

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

Relationship to surroundings

The barn is slightly behind and to the east of the house it is associated with. The ridge-lie n of the house is parallel to the ridge-line of the barn. The site appears to be the combination of two addresses; 60 sterling Drive and 541 Albany Turnpike. Starting to the west of the house and running behind the house, by the barn back to the turnpike is a semi-circular drive. South of the barn, between the turnpike and the barn, is a parking lot. To the east of the barn is a set of three gable-roofed structures, the easternmost appears to be a greenhouse. Further east is a large tract of open space, demarcated to the east by Sterling Drive, which then turns west. To the north and northeast of the barn is woodland. Directly behind the house to the north is a small shed. The area surrounding the site is scattered residential, active agriculture and woodland.

Building Typology

• English
• English/New England Hybrid

Materials

• Fieldstone
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Post & Beam

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

n/a

Date Compiled

12/07/2010

Compiled By

Todd Levine, reviewed by the Connecticut Trust

Sources

Photographs by David A. Bristol.

The Capitol Region Council of Governments website. http://www.crcog.org/gissearch/

Map of Canton, CT, retrieved on December 7, 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.