Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• State Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 1/2-story, eave-entry bank barn with an eave-entry on the east eave-side of the barn.  The main facade faces west, and the ridge-line is parallel with Artillery Road, which at this point runs approximately north to south.  The barn consists of the main structure which is three bays, a shed-roof addition on the north gable-end and a gable-roof addition on the north corner of the east eave-side. The roof of the main structure is a saltbox roof with a gambrel wall-dormer in the center of the east eave-side.

The main entry, a double-height, exterior-hung sliding door is centered on the west eave-facade and is approached by an earthen ramp.  On either side of the main entry is a six-pane fixed window, positioned low to the ground. On the south corner of the west eave-facade of the barn is an exterior-hung sliding door.  Located directly above is what appears to be a side-hinged hay door.

A zig-zag stone retaining wall extends to the west and north, as the grade drops significantly to reveal a full basement along the north gable-end of the barn.  The shed-roof addition (Addition I) encompasses two thirds of the north gable-end of the barn and extends to the north.  The north gable-end of the barn has no openings.

A gable-roof addition (Addition II) is attached to the north corner of the east eave-side of the barn and extends to the east.  The cut stone foundation is visible along this side.  The east eave-side of the barn has an exterior-hung sliding pass-through door near the south corner.  On either side of the door is a nine-pane fixed window with trim.  Just below the eave there are three, nine-pane fixed windows with trim.  Located in the gambrel wall-dormer is a nine-pane diamond shaped window with trim. 

The grade gradually inclines along the south gable-end of the barn.  There are two, six-pane fixed windows with trim even spaced on this side.  In the peak of the gable-attic on the south gable-end of the barn is an opening that is now boarded up.

Addition I has no openings on the west side.  On the north side of Addition I there is an exterior-hung sliding door centered on this side.  On both the east and west corners there are paired six-pane fixed windows with trim.  The grade drops along the north side of Addition I, revealing a cut stone foundation.  There appear to be no openings on the east side of Addition I.  The west gable-end of Addition II encompasses two thirds of the east side of Addition I.

Addition II has an exposed cut stone foundation/basement wall.  The entire west gable-end of Addition II is encompassed by the north corner of the east eave-side of the barn and the east side of Addition I.  There appear to be no openings on Addition II.  The grade inclines slightly along the east gable-end of Addition II.  A stone retaining wall extends to the south.

The barn and additions are clad in vertical flush-board painted yellow with red trim.  The roofs of the barn and additions consist of asphalt shingles.  The foundation/basement wall is cut 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 or side-hill 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

Listed on the State Register of Historic Places 11/06/2013. The barn complex contains a variety of buildings -- the two barns, sheds, the milk room, quarters for hired help, a corn crib, a spring house, and an outhouse. It is a wonderfully intact collection of buildings that demonstrates how the small farm grew over time. The barn was substantially expanded in 1915.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• storage

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Active Agriculture
• Barn
• Complex
• Fields
• Other Landscape Feature
• Stone Walls

Environment features

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

Relationship to surroundings

The farm complex and farmhouse sit on the hillside close to Artillery Road in the middle of large rolling fields, on 66.85 acres of land.  The barn is to the west of the house with which it is associated.  A large barn with a cupola sits to the northeast of the barn, and to the northwest is a small shed.  To the southeast is a guest house and a small shed.  Directly to the south and southwest are a few small outbuildings.  A large cemetery is located directly behind and to the southwest of the property.  This property is close to two intersections, Charcoal Avenue to the north and Middlebury Road to the south.  Fenn Pond is to the east, and to the west is woodland.  The property is surrounded by residential areas.

Map/Lot: 6-08/ / 039

Building Typology

• English Bank

Materials

• Flush-board
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Post & Beam
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

61 x 38.5, 3213 square feet.

Date Compiled

05/26/2011

Compiled By

K. Young & T. Levine, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by James Sexton, PhD - 8/24/2006.

Additional field notes by Martin Skrelunas - 12/13/2010.

Town of Middlebury Assessor’s Record:
http://data.visionappraisal.com/MiddleburyCT/findpid.asp?iTable=pid&pid=1125

Aerial Mapping: Middlebury Maps
www.bing.com/maps - accessed 5/26/2011.

Carley, Rachel, Historical and Architectural Survey of the Town of Middlebury Connecticut, Mattatuck Museum & Middlebury Historical Society, 2006.

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, 213 pages.