Daniel P. Higgins Barn, Higgins Hollow Road, Truro

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MASS,1-TRU,21-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This two-story, rectangular plank "barn was doubled after its original construction. The original half of the barn, one of the few good examples of a Cape Cod Barn as built in the early century, is in the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Architectural Information

The Daniel P. Higgins Barn is a two-story Cape Cod barn with a gable roof and walls covered with wooden shingles. It is to the rear of the Daniel P. Higgins House and is surrounded by residential landscaping. This early century building was doubled early in its history. The barn is rec- tangular, faces west, and is in poor condition. 1, Date of erection: Early century. 2. Over-all dimensions: The over-all dimensions for total building, 27' x 6' x The original structure before the doubling was 15' x 15' The foundations are red brick under the total structure. 3- Walls: The walls are plank construction, covered with wooden shingles.

The north half of the barn, the original half, was vertical wall and roof planks perpendicular to the ridge, common on Cape Cod before The new or south half of the barn has the horizontal wall and roof planks parallel to the ridge used after The timbers in the older half of the barn are hewn, and those in the new half are sawn. k. Condition: Poor, but unchnaged. 5. Floor plan: The first floor of-the barn is one large room. A second floor or loft over the north or old half of the barn is reached by a permanently fixed ladder. DANIEL P. HIGGINS BARN HABS No. MA-696 (Page 2) 6. Openings: Doors: There are two "board doors in the old or north half of the "barn.

The new or south half has one large sliding door for which there is an exterior shingled "eyebrow" hang- ing over and protecting the running track of the door. Windows: The windows are two-lights high. On the old struc- ture they are mostly "boarded over "but they appear to have "been four-lights. The window in the south face of the south half of the "building is two-lights high and about eight or ten-lights wide. 7. Interior: The interior of the barn is not finished and the random width plank floor runs through the northern half of the barn about two inches higher than in the southern half. 8. Site: The barn is to the north of the Daniel P. Higgins House, (HABS No. MA-T^T).

The privy, about three feet to the east of the barn, is a small gable roofed wooden structure about five feet square and screened to its front, the south, by a wooden lattice about six feet high and six feet wide. There are no walks or drives to the barn or the privy. Prepared by: Donald B. tfyer National Park Service Cape Cod Survey II Truro Field Office August 22,