Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 1/2-story, gable-entry barn with a shed-roof addition.  The main facade faces west and the ridge-line of the barn is parallel to this portion of Bethway Road, which runs approximately east-west.  The main entry is an exterior sliding door centered in the lower story of the west gable-facade of the barn.  The door slides to the south until the track meets a fixed, one-over-one window with trim.  A Dutch door is set in the lower story at the point where the shed addition meets the barn.  There is a fixed, nine-pane window adjacent to its south jamb.  A hinged door and a boarded window occupy the west gable-side of the shed-roof addition.  The rest of the west gable-facade is blank except for the roof-like hood which covers all three entries just above the track line.  The shed-roof addition occupies only the first of roughly four bays on the west side of the north eave-side of the barn.  The east gable-side of the barn has a pair of widely-set windows in its lower story and a window opening beneath the gable peak.  The foundation has been repaired with cinder blocks here.  The south eave-side of the barn has a row of eight unevenly spaced, two boarded and six one-over-one windows with trim, in its lower story.  (The one-over-one windows could be storm windows.)  There are two hinged hay doors beneath the eaves of the upper register on the far ends of the south eave-side of the barn.  There is evidence of a field-stone foundation on the south eave-side of the barn.  The barn has wood shingles.  The roof is covered with asphalt shingles.

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.

Field Notes

n/a

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

1

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Shed

Environment features

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

Relationship to surroundings

The property is located in the northwest corner of the junction of Bethway Road and the Litchfield Turnpike (Route 69). The driveway enters near the west border of the property line and leads to a cape with an attached garage which is set back from the road.  The barn fronts Bethway Road on the east side of the drive.  The ridge-line of the barn is parallel to the ridge-line of the house.  The driveway passes the east side of the garage on a narrow road lined by pairs of Leyland Cypress trees and leads to a parking area between two stable buildings behind and to the northeast of the house.  The gable-end of the first stable sits on the north end of the parking area, while the eave-side of the second stable comprises the west side of the parking area.  A small gable-roof shed runs across the south gable-side of the first stable.  There is an open yard on the east side of the driveway followed by woodland at the far east end of the property along the Litchfield Turnpike.  Oval- and rectangular-shaped clearings carved out of areas of brush and woodland are found to the east of the barn along Bethway Road.  The 7.00-acre lot is separated from neighboring residences to the west and north by a narrow row of trees.  The area surrounding the site is residential, agriculture, open space and woodland. 

Map 125/37-2

Building Typology

• New England

Materials

• Wood Shingle

Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

Roof type

• Gable

Approximate Dimensions

STABLE BARN 1947 176 STABLE BARN 1947 576 STABLE BARN 1960 616 LQ SHED SHED 1980 220 FRAME BARN 1960 2350

Date Compiled

01/09/2011

Compiled By

Amy Prescher & Todd Levine, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Photographs and field notes by Melissa Antonelli and Charlotte R. Hitchcock.

Map of Bethany, CT, retrieved on January 09, 2011 from website
http://bing.com/maps/

Map of Bethany, CT, retrieved on January 09, 2011 from website http://maps.google.com/

eQuality Valuation Servies, LLC Database
http://www.prophecyone.us/fieldcard.php?property_id=1825772

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.