Upriver History: The Pinney farm's brick barn, a rare New England form from about 1825
A West Street barn built of brick around 1825 is an uncommon survivor, its 1977 National Register nomination says.
WINDSOR LOCKS - A brick barn on West Street, built around 1825, is an early example of a farm building that has been disappearing from the landscape, according to the National Register nomination for the David Pinney House and Barn.
Brick barns are very uncommon in New England, the nomination says. It suggests the material's resistance to fire, and a brickyard right next to the property, were the likely reasons for the choice. Little is known about David Pinney, who owned the land when the barn and house went up, other than that he was a farmer.
The barn has three large, bluntly pointed arches on its south side, diamond-shaped openings in the brick gables and a row of trap doors on the second floor that open into the animal stalls below. The ground slopes up on the north side to allow entry to the upper level. The nomination ties those features to storing grain and moving it efficiently through the building.
The two-story frame house dates to about 1840 and stands on the site of an earlier house; the nomination says later alterations left it with little distinction. When the Connecticut Historical Commission prepared the form in January 1977, the farm was part of the town-owned, 22-acre Noden-Reed Park, and the local historical society was running it for the town with hopes of making it an agricultural museum. It was listed on the National Register on July 25, 1977.
How this story was made: AI tools helped research and draft this story, working from the sources cited and linked above. It was fact-checked against those sources, and our editor, Joshua Allen, reviewed and approved it before publication. See an error? Email upriverdaily@gmail.com.