Saltboxes are frame houses with two stories in front and one in back, having a pitched roof with unequal sides, being short and high in front and long and low in back. The front of the house is flat and the rear roof line is steeply sloped. The sturdy central chimney is a simple but effective focal point.
Why do they call it a saltbox house?
Originally named for the wooden salt containers commonplace in the era, saltbox houses are typically built from wood and easily spotted by their long, slanted rear roof. Because of the lower slant off the pitched roof, saltbox homes have two stories in the front of the building and only a single story in the rear.
What is a saltbox colonial house?
A saltbox house is a gable roofed residential structure that is typically two stories in the front and one in the rear. It is a traditional New England style of home, originally timber framed, which takes its name from its resemblance to a wooden lidded box in which salt was once kept.
Who made saltbox house?
farmer Ephraim Hawley
Built by farmer Ephraim Hawley in 1690, the house was expanded with the addition of two lean-tos (one in 1840 and another around the time of the Civil War) across the back of the house, giving the structure its current saltbox silhouette.
How is the saltbox house built?
saltbox, in architecture, type of residential building popular in colonial New England, having two stories in front and a single story in the rear and a double-sloped roof that is longer over the rear section. The original clapboard houses of the New England settlers were constructed around a great central chimney.
What materials are used to build a saltbox house?
Saltbox House Generally built out of wood and other accessible materials, early saltbox models were timber framed and employed post and beam construction, lessening the need for expensive metal nails.
How is a saltbox house built?
Where are saltbox houses most popular?
One of the most famous examples of Saltbox architecture are the neighboring Quincy, Massachusetts, homes of John Adams, a Founding Father who was the 2nd president of the United States from 1797 to 1801, and his son John Quincy Adams, who was the country’s 6th president (1825-1829).
When was the saltbox house first used?
1650
A classic staple of New England architecture, Saltbox-style houses first appeared in the United States around 1650, making them among the oldest examples of American Colonial-style architecture. They remained a popular choice in the 17th and 18th centuries.
When was the saltbox house invented?
What is a saltbox house?
Saltboxes are typically Colonial two-story house plans with the rear roof lengthened down the back side of the home. The rear roof extends downward to cover a one-story addition at the rear of the home.
What is a saltbox roof style?
The roof style is also known as a catslide roof – any roof that, in part, in the same plane, extends down below the main eave height, providing greater area under the roof. Original hand-riven oak clapboards are still in place on some the earliest New England saltboxes, such as the Comfort Starr House and Ephraim Hawley House.
What kind of clapboard is used on saltboxes?
Original hand-riven oak clapboards are still in place on some the earliest New England saltboxes, such as the Comfort Starr House and Ephraim Hawley House. Once part of their exteriors, they are preserved in place in attics that were created when shed-roofed additions were added onto the homes.
