Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

• National Register

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½-story, gable-roof, gable-entry barn with a shed-roof addition and a shed-roof garage that attaches the barn to a gable-roof shed.  The main façade faces south, and the ridge-line is perpendicular to Robertsville Road, which at this point runs east-west.  The main entrance is an over-sized, interior sliding door with a raised stoop in the center of the south gable-end of the barn. On each side of the door, to the east and west, are one-over-one double-hung windows.  Just above the main entry is a side-hinged door with diagonal bracing.  Located in the gable-attic of the south gable-end of the barn is a horizontal window. The west eave-side of the barn appears to be encompassed by a shed-roof addition.  There appear to be no openings on the north gable-end of the barn

The east eave-side of the barn has no openings, but attached at the north corner, and forming a right angle to the barn, is a four-bay, shed-roof garage with overhead doors. Each door has sixteen panels.  The shed-roof garage attaches at the north corner of the west eave-side of the gable-roof shed.  No openings appear to be in the west eave-side.  The south gable-end of the shed has a pass-through door near the west corner, and what appears to be a window with trim just east of center.  Above this are two horizontal windows with trim.  In the gable-attic on the south gable-end of the shed is a round window with trim and eight triangular panes.  Located just below the eave on the east-eave side of the shed is a fixed window with trim.  The north gable-end of the shed appears to have no openings.  The north side of the flat-roof garage also appears to have no openings.

The barn and shed are clad in cream colored vinyl siding with brown trim. The roof has asphalt shingles and overhanging eaves. In the center of the ridge-line of the barn is a cupola with a square wooden shaft, ventilated sides, and a pyramidal roof. The foundation of the barn is fieldstone. Located on the ridge-line of the gable-roof shed is a weather vane.

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.

Historical background:

The property at 6 Robertsville Road is located within the boundaries of the Riverton Historic District, a National Register District that includes buildings significant to the 19th century industrial village of Riverton. Several buildings on the property, including two barns, a house, and two sheds, are considered contributing resources. The house associated with the barn was built in 1873 and known as the Delos H. Stephens House. According to the National Register Registration form, the barn was built circa 1880 and moved to this location from across the street.

Field Notes

May be in Riverton Historic District

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• storage

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Moved

Related features

• Barn
• Cupola
• Garage
• Garden

Environment features

• Active Agriculture
• Residential
• Rural
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The barn sits on the east side of a 1.09-acre parcel of land on the north side of Robertsville Road in the community of Riverton, in Barkhamsted, Litchfield County. The property is a few hundred yards west of the West Branch of the Farmington River, and approximately five miles north of New Hartford Center. To the east of the barn is another barn of similar size, and between them a four-bay garage. To the rear is a small shed. South of the barn, and closer to the road, is the house, built in 1873, with which the barn is associated. The area nearby is situated in the valley between the Still River and the West Branch of the Farmington River, and is rural, with a mixture of residential and agricultural use. Surrounding the valley, the land is heavily wooded.
M/P 235

Building Typology

• New England

Materials

• Fieldstone
• Vinyl Siding

Structural System

• Post & Beam
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

24' x 32'

Date Compiled

03/22/2011

Compiled By

C. Wilkinson & T. Levine, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Paul Hart & John Greaser - 8/4/2010.
Town of Barkhamsted Assessor’s Record:
http://www.visionappraisal.com
Parcel ID:  235

Aerial Mapping:
http://maps.google.com accessed 3/22/2011
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 3/22/2011

Cunningham, Jan, National Register District Nomination No. 07000419, National Park Service, 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.