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.
The structure's unequal sides and long, low rear roofline are its most distinctive features. A flat front and central chimney are also recognizable traits.
The saltbox originated in New England and is an example of American colonial architecture. Its shape evolved organically as an economical way to enlarge a house by adding a shed to a home's rear.
Original hand-riven oak clapboards are still in place on some of 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.
The style was popular for structures throughout the colonial period and into the early Republic for its ability to enlarge the footprint of an existing structure at a minimum of cost. It was most common in Massachusetts, the Connecticut Valley, and in the Western Reserve of Ohio in the period from 1620 to mid 1700s, but continued to be built until around 1820. [1]
Saltbox homes can also be found in parts of Newfoundland and Labrador.[ citation needed ]
The roof style is also known as a catslide roof– any roof that, in part, extends down below the main eave height, providing greater area under the roof. [2] If the roof continues at the same pitch, it is considered a "continuous catslide". [3] In the United States, the term is applied to roofs on houses in the Southeast, especially stretching from Maryland south and west through Kentucky, and from early colonial times to around 1910. The term was borrowed from 17th century England where it referred to a secondary roof, often at the side of a building. [1] In the southern US, a catslide roof was usually covering a front or rear porch, often with a less steep pitch than the main roof. [4]
The term is applied to any roof with different eave heights, such as a house with one and a half stories above ground in the front and one story in the rear. The catslide could cover an open patio with a lower ceiling than the house, or could continue almost to the ground, creating a limited height storage area. A front vestibule could have a small catslide roof perpendicular to the main roof. A dormer could be designed with a catslide. [5]
Characteristic of most early New England colonial houses, saltboxes were timber framed. Also known as post-and-beam construction, the technique joins large pieces of wood with mortise and tenon joints, wooden pegs, braces, or trusses. Metal nails were sparingly used, as they were an expensive commodity at the time. The exterior of a saltbox was often finished with clapboard or another wooden siding. The Josiah Day House in West Springfield, Massachusetts, is constructed of brick. [6]
American colonial architecture includes several building design styles associated with the colonial period of the United States, including First Period English (late-medieval), French Colonial, Spanish Colonial, Dutch Colonial, and Georgian. These styles are associated with the houses, churches and government buildings of the period from about 1600 through the 19th century.
A Cape Cod house is a low, broad, single or double-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 weather of Cape Cod. It features a central front door flanked by multipaned windows. The space above the first floor was often left as unfinished attic space, with or without windows on the gable ends.
First Period is an American architecture style in the time period between approximately 1626 and 1725, used by British colonists during the earliest English settlements in United States, particularly in Massachusetts and Virginia and later in other British colonies along the east coast. Among these cities, Essex County in Massachusetts has the highest amount of preserved First Period architecture mimicking British architecture styles.
The Ephraim Hawley House is a privately owned Colonial American wooden post-and-beam timber-frame saltbox house situated on the Farm Highway, Route 108, on the south side of Mischa Hill, in Nichols, a village located within Trumbull, Connecticut, in the New England region of the U.S. It was expanded to its present shape by three additions. The house has been located in four different named townships, but has never been moved; Stratford (1670–1725), Unity (1725–1744), North Stratford (1744–1797) and Trumbull (1797–present).
The John Boardman House is a historic First Period house in Boxford, Massachusetts. Its oldest portion dates to about 1740, but has stylistically older elements. It was moved to its current location from Saugus in 1956, before which it had undergone restoration. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The Joseph Hardy House is a historic late First Period house in Groveland, Massachusetts. Built about 1720 with plank frame construction, it is a relatively rare example of that form in the region. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The Col. John Osgood House is a historic late First Period house in North Andover, Massachusetts. The original part of the house, its left side, was built c. 1720. A second, similar building was then attached to the right side of the chimney at a later date, demonstrating an unusual method of joining the two structures. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The Hapgood House is a historic house in Stow, Massachusetts. Built c. 1726, it is a well-preserved late First Period, including a rare surviving stairway balustrade from the period. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The Addington Gardner House is a historic First Period house in Sherborn, Massachusetts. Its oldest portions dating to about 1730, it is one of the community's oldest surviving buildings, and a good example of transitional First-Second Period style. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
In architecture, an overhang is a protruding structure that may provide protection for lower levels. Overhangs on two sides of Pennsylvania Dutch barns protect doors, windows, and other lower-level structures. Overhangs on all four sides of barns and larger, older farmhouses are common in Swiss architecture. An overhanging eave is the edge of a roof, protruding outwards from the side of the building, generally to provide weather protection.
The Thomas Hawley House at 514 Purdy Hill Road in Monroe, Connecticut, is a historic Colonial American wooden post-and-beam saltbox farm house built in 1730. Hawley was the great grandson of Joseph Hawley (Captain) of Stratford, Connecticut, through Samuel. A drawing and description of the house was included in J. Frederick Kelly's book, The Early Domestic Architecture of Connecticut first published in 1924.
The Comfort Starr House, located at 138 State St., Guilford, Connecticut, is a classic saltbox house with an added lean-to. According to a dendrochronology study, completed in 2014, the house was built in 1695.
The Eleazer Williams House is a historic house in Mansfield Center, Connecticut, United States. It is located on Storrs Road near the southeast corner of the junction with Dodd Road. Completed in 1710, it was the home of the town's first minister, and has a well-preserved chronology of alteration, illustrating changing building practices over the course of the 18th century. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, and is included within the Mansfield Center Historic District.
The Lake of the Woods Ranger Station is a United States Forest Service compound consisting of eight buildings overlooking Lake of the Woods in the Fremont-Winema National Forests of southern Oregon. All of the ranger station structures were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1937 and 1939. Today, the compound serves as a Forest Service work center, and the old ranger station office is a visitor center. The ranger station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Selah Barnes House is a historic house at 282 Prospect Street Southington, Connecticut. Built about 1778 for a local merchant, it is a good local example of vernacular Georgian architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
The John Hollister House is a historic house at 14 Tryon Street in the South Glastonbury village of Glastonbury, Connecticut. Built about 1675, it is the town's oldest surviving colonial structure, built by one of its early settlers. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
The John Hoadley House is a historic house at 213 Leete's Island Road in Branford, Connecticut. Built about 1810, it is a well-preserved example of late colonial architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The Norton House is a historic house at 200 Pine Orchard Road in Branford, Connecticut. Built about 1715 in what is now Madison, it is one of Branford's small number of well-preserved 18th-century houses. It was moved to its present location about 1940, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The Jonathon Keyes Sr. House, also known incorrectly in town histories as the Solomon Keyes House, is a historic house at 16 Frances Hill Road in Westford, Massachusetts. It was probably built in the mid-18th century, and is one of the town's oldest surviving buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.
The Shelley House is a historic house at 248 Boston Post Road in Madison, Connecticut. Probably built in the late 17th century and enlarged in the 18th century, this house's architecture clearly exhibits a typical growth pattern of colonial-era houses from a one-room stone ender to a saltbox house. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.