Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• State Historic Resource Inventory

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½ - story eave-entry barn which appears to be a four-bay extended barn. The ridge-line of the barn runs east-west parallel to Country Club Road but perpendicular to this portion of Oenoke Ridge. The south eave-side of the barn faces Country Club Road while both the north and south eave-sides contain similar entrances in the second bay from the east through pairs of double-height exterior-hung hooded X-braced sliding wagon doors. Three closely-spaced six-over-six double-hung sash windows can be seen towards the immediate west of the main entrance. The façade also has two six-pane windows just below the eave-level, one near each corner. A margin of mortared field stone masonry foundation can be seen along the grade level which wraps the barn around its east gable gable-end. The first floor level of the east and west gable-ends of the barn are blank with a dropped girt siding divide line separating the gable attic. The gable attics are lined by rake boards and have two six-pane windows at the center. The south eave-side of the barn facing Country Club Road also has two nine-pane windows to the west of the double-height entrance while two six-pane windows can be seen just below the eave-level, one each towards either side. The gable-roof of the barn has a louvered cupola with a weather vane at the center. 

The wooden frame of the barn is supported on mortared field stone masonry foundation. The barn has asphalt shingle roofing and red painted vertical siding walls with white trim.

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

Like so many barns in New Canaan, this one is a remnant of the town's agricultural past. While it has been thoroughly reworked, it is a physical reminder in the landscape that reinforces its character. This is one of two barns that survive from a group of four. An ell off of this building once created a protected work yard; that feeling is now lost. It now feels somewhat isolated in the landscape.[JS] Owner notes: This property, with this large barn and smaller carriage barn, is located on the corner of Country Club Rd and Oenoke Ridge. Big barn dates from 1749 and carriage barn from 1790 (from New Canaan Historical Society files). The house associated with them was torn down after many renovations. Owners have rehabilitated the barns, new roof, new exterior siding, but mostly original interior posts and beams as well as floor boards. Note [CH]: post and beam frame with dropped tie-girt construction is characteristic of early 19th century; 18th-c. date may need further verification.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Original Site

Related features

• Complex
• Cupola
• Garden
• Other
• Shed
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Scattered Buildings
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The 4 acres property, Account Number- 06317 and MBLU number- 0033/ 0034/ 0110/, is a corner plot located towards the west of Oenoke Ridge and the south of Country Club Road. The property is located in a pre-dominantly residential area with individual plots separated by woodland and water bodies. Residential plots flank the property towards the west, south, east and the north, across the roads in respective directions. A pond can be seen towards the immediate west of the property.

The barn is located along the northern edge of the property, nearer to Country Club Road. The ridge line of the barn runs east-west parallel to Country Club Road but almost perpendicular to this portion of Oenoke Ridge. A small gable-roof shed is located towards the northwest of the barn abutting to Country Club Road and its ridge line also running east-west. The circa 2001 main residence of the property is located towards the southeast of the barn, almost at the center of the plot. A pavilion with wooden trellis can be seen towards further south of the main residence. The property is accessed by a semi-circular through-driveway from its eastern edge surrounding a landscaped area. The rest of the property has open land with stone masonry boundary walls lined by cluster of trees along the fringes. 

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Fieldstone
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

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

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

25x45(JS)

Date Compiled

06/01/2011

Compiled By

T. Levine and M. Patnaik, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes provided by: James Sexton
Additional photographs by Rose Rothbart.

Assessors’ information retrieved on June 1st, 2011 from website
http://propertyappraisal.ci.new-canaan.ct.us:8080/login.php

Photograph/Information retrieved on June 1st, 2011 from website http://www.google.com

Photograph/Information retrieved on June 1st, 2011 from website http://www.bing.com.

Photograph/Information retrieved on June 1st, 2011 from website http://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.