The Prentis House, built in 1773 in Hadley, Massachusetts, by the Dickinson family, is typical of the indigenous style of saltbox architecture that developed in New England during the Colonial period and remained in use, particularly in rural areas, through the American Revolution. The Prentis House was relocated to the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, and furnished with 17th and 18th century period furniture and decorative arts.
Hadley is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,250 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area around the Hampshire and Mountain Farms Malls along Route 9 is a major shopping destination for the surrounding communities.
A saltbox house is a traditional New England style of house with a long, pitched roof that slopes down to the back, generally a wooden frame house. A saltbox has just one story in the back and two stories in the front. The flat front and central chimney are recognizable features, but the asymmetry of the unequal sides and the long, low rear roof line are the most distinctive features of a saltbox, which takes its name from its resemblance to a wooden lidded box in which salt was once kept.
New England is a region composed of six states in the northeastern United States: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick to the northeast and Quebec to the north. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east and southeast, and Long Island Sound is to the south. Boston is New England's largest city, as well as the capital of Massachusetts. Greater Boston is the largest metropolitan area, with nearly a third of New England's population; this area includes Worcester, Massachusetts, Manchester, New Hampshire, and Providence, Rhode Island.
Saltbox architecture developed as builders devised a simple way to enlarge their European-inspired Cape houses built during the early years of colonization. The term "saltbox" refers to the structure's characteristic asymmetrical roofline that extends on one side from the peak of the roof to the first floor, thus resembling the profile of an early wooden salt container. Builders would typically position a saltbox structure so that the extended roof faced north, diminishing the impact of winter winds, while the façade windows faced south, collecting warmth from the sun.
A Cape Cod house is a low, broad, single-story frame building with a moderately steep pitched gabled roof, a large central chimney, and very little ornamentation. Originating in New England in the 17th century, the simple symmetrical design was constructed of local materials to withstand the stormy, stark weather of Cape Cod. It features a central front door flanked by multi-paned windows. The space above the 1st floor was often left unfinished, with or without windows on the gable ends.
Typical of the style, Prentis House is built around a massive central chimney, which supports much of the building's weight. Seven flues meet on the second floor in a huge beehive-shaped formation before the chimney narrows again at the roofline. [1]
A flue is a duct, pipe, or opening in a chimney for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, furnace, water heater, boiler, or generator to the outdoors. Historically the term flue meant the chimney itself. In the United States, they are also known as vents for boilers and as breeching for water heaters and modern furnaces. They usually operate by buoyancy, also known as the stack effect, or the combustion products may be 'induced' via a blower. As combustion products contain carbon monoxide and other dangerous compounds, proper 'draft', and admission of replacement air is imperative. Building codes, and other standards, regulate their materials, design, and installation.
