Born of a Barn in Waterford

To the untrained eye, the Alessandro Secchiaroli Farmstead barn on 61 Miner Lane doesn't look like much. Surrounded by land overgrown with weeds, its windows boarded up with plywood and with a basketball hoop hanging askew on an outside wall, it looks like a blighted building on a forgotten plot. 
 
Town Historian Robert Nye sees it differently.

"I just think of that space," he says. "That's what grabs me. It's a gambrel [symmetrical, two-sided, sloping] roof with no supports. In the middle, open space, truss construction."

It's not just Nye who thinks this barn is special, however. On May 1, it was officially listed on the State Register of Historic Places by the Connecticut Historic Preservation Council. 

In recent years, Connecticut has been on a mission to record and preserve the state's many historic barns. At one time, there were hundreds. Indeed, Nye says there were probably about 100 in Waterford alone between 1920 and 1940, although, he notes, the decline in the farming industry means these days "you'd be hard-pressed to find a single cow." 

The historical designation granted most recently to the Secchiaroli Farmstead is honorary, which means the owner isn't prevented from demolishing the structure. But as long as Nye is around, that isn't likely to happen.

The town of Waterford bought the property and the 30 acres it sits on as part of a settlement with the Secchiaroli family on September 10, 2008. The original owners had sued the town, Nye recalls, because the site is close to where the town landfill used to be and there were leaching issues. 

The town has yet to figure out what to do with this newly-acknowledged, architecturally-significant piece of history. For now, Nye says, it's safe and sound. The town repaired leaks in the roof and boarded up the windows. 

"The town did pay to have the building moth-balled—roof patched, windows covered—at least for a few more years it's secure," says Nye. 

It took two years for Nye to get it registered as an historic building. He's hoping that the town will incorporate it into its next plan of development. The whole site could be put back to work for agricultural development, perhaps with community gardens or acreage that could be sold or leased under certain conditions, he says.  

Another option would be to convert it to arts space, he says. Artists could take advantage of the natural light and the space itself could be divided into individual studios. As of now, however, he says, "The town has no plans for it."

"Here you have 30 acres and this unique barn. It's very unusual for the first floor to be brick. It's basically in fair to good shape," Nye says. "It would be a shame for it to be lost."