Building Name (Common)
Out of Site Farm - Barn III (Part 2 of 2)Building Name (Historic)
Out of Site FarmAddress
3 James RoadAshford
Typology
Historic Significance
Architectural description:
Barn III: This is a 1 ½ story eave-entry gable-roofed barn with its ridge line oriented north-south parallel to the road. The west side is close to the road and is a three-bay facade with a sliding barn door in the center bay. The door has two six-over-six double hung windows inserted into it. To the left (in the north bay) is a small six pane window and to the right (in the south bay) is a pass-through door with long iron strap hinges, possibly original. The south gable-end facade is abutted by an attached pole barn with corrugated metal siding, open on its east side as a livestock shelter. The east eave-side facade has a pass-through door in the center bay, also with iron strap hinges, and several stable windows. The grade drops away slightly, exposing the foundation near the northeast corner, a mix of fieldstone and concrete block masonry. The north gable-end facade has four stable windows, two-pane or six-pane, at the ground level and one small six-pane barn sash in the attic gable near the northeast corner. Siding is vertical wood flush boards on the main barn and metal siding on the attached pole barn. Roofing is asphalt shingles on the main barn and metal on the pole barn.
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.
Historical background:
The town of Ashford was incorporated in 1714 and for its first century had the typical scattered settlement on upland ridges which characterized nearly all of Connecticut. The economy was community-subsistence agriculture. Industry was limited to the mills of the agricultural economy – grist, saw, fulling mills. In the early 19th century, turnpikes and improved roads, along with limited market-oriented agriculture, resulted in some local wealth and settlement nuclei at the major crossroads. Ashford Center, Westford, and Warrenville date from this period. So do the fancy Federal-style houses in these villages and along Route 89 (Mansfield Road) south of Warrenville. Also in this period there existed a short-lived glass factory at Westford. In the 19th century, the lack of significant waterpower and railroad connections led to stagnation. Its peak population, 1820 (2,778) which had declined to 668 by 1910, was not exceeded until 1980. In the early 20th century, the declining farms of Ashford were abandoned by their Yankee owners and sold to East European immigrants, notably Slovaks, Bohemians, and Hungarians (Magyars). This transformation of the rural countryside is one of the great stories of modern Connecticut. Today a large portion of the town is descended from these people. Today Ashford remains a beautiful, scenic town. All roads are mostly scenic, with wooded, overgrown pastures (stone walls, young hardwoods) predominating (Clouette, Ashford survey).
Field Notes
English barn & attached pole barn with metal siding and roofing. Raising beef cattle. Near river and brook. Parcel located on south side of James Road, east of No. 3 where the owner lives.