Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 1/2 story side or eave-entry barn. The barns ridge line runs east-west, parallel with Tower Hill Road. The main facade faces north and has three bays. On the left side of the east bay is a fixed six-pane window. The west side of the east bay has a pass-through door. The center bay on the main facade has swinging doors. Above the doors is a fixed six-pane window. The west bay also has swinging doors with a fixed six-pane window above. The east-facade has a shed-roofed addition below the girt line and has two open bays supported by braced front posts. Below the apex is a six-over-six double hung window. The south facade also has a shed-roofed addition which appears to be about half the width of the main structure. On the west side of the south facade is a fixed four-pane window. Below the eave, on the west side, is a window opening and a fixed six-pane window on the east side. On the west facade, beneath the apex is a six-over-six double hung window. Below the girt line on the south side there is another six-over-six double hung window. The barn has vertical siding and is painted red with an asphalt shingle roof.

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

Per interview with Jack Collins of Bujak Rd, the owner is Frank Postemski of Hampton, and the residents for many years have been artists Clauia and Arnold Prince. -See A -Across from 48/58 tower hill road along with barns a and b and two attached sheds. fronts directly on road

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• storage

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Residential
• Rural
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The barn appears to be besides and to the east of the house with which it is associated. The ridgeline of the barn is perpendicular to the ridgeline of the house. To the east of the barn is another English barn with a shed-roof addition (http://www.connecticutbarns.org/15637). A stone wall extends from the northeast corner of the 2nd barn and extends to the east, parallel to the road. To the southwest of the barn is a tract of open space. The area surrounding the site is light residential, open space and woodland.

Building Typology

• English

Materials

• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Post & Beam

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

28'4" l x 18' 4" w

Date Compiled

02/08/2010

Compiled By

T. Levine and S. Lessard, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Photographs by Catherine Lynch, Hill Bullard, Stephanie Lessard and Charlotte Hitchcock. Field Notes by Catherine Lynch and Hill Bullard.

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.

National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Preservation Brief #2: Repointing Mortar Joints in Historic Masonry Buildings, Robert C. Mack, FAIA, and John P. Speweik.

McAlester, Virginia & Lee, A Field Guide to American Houses, knopf, 1984, page 546