Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a barn complex towards the north of Depot Street consisting of Barn–I at the center, Barn-II intersecting Barn-I at its north-west corner, Barn-III towards the north of Barn-I and two corn cribs towards the north-west: Crib-I towards the north and Crib-II towards the south.

Barn-I : This is a 1 ½- story gable-entry barn with a shed-roof addition encompassing the entire length of its east eave-side and a gable-roof addition on its west eave-side towards the south. The south gable-side of the main barn facing Depot Street is the main façade of the barn with the ridge line running north-south, perpendicular to the road. The main entrance to the barn is off-centered towards the east on the main south gable-façade through a pair of double-height hinged wagon doors with blacksmith hardware and over-hang. The main south gable-façade of the barn has a louvered vent centered in the gable attic above. The south side-wall of the shed-roof addition on the east eave-side of the main barn can be seen flush with the main south gable-façade towards the east while the south eave-side of the gable-roof addition on the west eave-side of the main barn can be seen flush towards the west. The east eave-side of the shed-roof addition on the east eave-side of the main barn appears to be blank. The south eave-side of the gable-roof addition on the west eave-side of the main barn has an exterior-hung sliding wagon door towards the west and a hinged pass-through door towards the east. A pair of six-over-six double-hung sash windows can be seen in between the two entrances. The west gable-side of the gable-roof addition has a pair of six-over-six double-hung sash windows at the center while the north eave-side has a shed-roof addition.

The wooden frame of the barn is supported on cement foundation and has asphalt shingle roofing. The main barn and the shed-roof addition on its east eave-side have red painted wood shingles with white corner boards while the gable-roof addition on the west eave-side has red painted clapboard siding.

Historical significance:

The New England barn or gable front barn was the successor to the English barn and relies on a gable entry rather than an entry under the eaves. The gable front offers many practical advantages. Roofs drain off the side, rather than flooding the dooryard. With the main drive floor running parallel to the ridge, the size of the barn could be increased to accommodate larger herds by adding additional bays to the rear gable end. Although it was seen by many as an improvement over the earlier side-entry English Barn, the New England barn did not replace its predecessor but rather coexisted with it, as both types continued to be built.

Field Notes

Also see Part - 2/2 : http://www.connecticutbarns.org/index.cgi/34140 This farm is located on Depot St in Broad Brook. It lies between homes numbered 123 and 137. It is a working farm. In the fourth picture, I included some of the outlying buildings behind it. The cows saw I was taking pictures and decided they needed to be included.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Other
• Shed

Environment features

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

Relationship to surroundings

The 81.8 acres property, Map Number - 27 53 005, is a corner plot towards the north of Depot Street and the west of East Road. The property is situated in a pre-dominantly residential area of rural character. Residential plots can be seen towards the west and the south of the property across Depot Street while dense woodland surrounds the property towards its west. Parcels of farmland can be seen towards the north and south of the property.

The barn complex is located in the south-western corner of the property abutting to Depot Street. A patch of dense woodland can be seen towards the north of the barn complex while open land can be seen towards further north. Parcels of farm land with active agriculture can be seen towards the eastern edge of the property along East Road. Dense woodland also covers the north-eastern corner of the property.

The barn complex consists of the 1 ½- story gable-entry barn with the shed-roof addition on its east eave-side and a gable-roof addition on its south-west corner, Barn–I, at the center. The 2 ½ - story eave-entry barn, Barn-II, can be seen intersecting the main barn, Barn-I, at its north-west corner. The complex includes a stand-alone 1 – storey eave-entry barn towards the north of Barn-I while two corn cribs can be seen towards the north-west: Crib-I towards the north and Crib-II towards the south.

Building Typology

• New England

Materials

• Clapboard
• Wood Shingle

Structural System

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

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

Barn: 1512 SqFt, Circa 1920 Barn: 480 SqFt, Circa 1920 Barn: 1080 SqFt, Circa 1920 Barn: 728 SqFt, Circa 1920 Shed: 576 SqFt, Circa 1920

Date Compiled

11/19/2010

Compiled By

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

Sources

Field notes and photographs provided by:
Jessica Bottomley

Assessors’ records retrieved on November 19th, 2010 from website http://www.equalitycama.com/ 

GIS information retrieved on November 19th, 2010 from website http://www.crcog.org/gissearch/

Photograph/Information retrieved on November 19th, 2010 from website http://www.google.com

Information retrieved on November 19th, 2010 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.