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Asaltbox house is agable-roofed residential structure that is typically twostories in the front and one in the rear. It is a traditionalNew England style of home, originallytimber 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 rearroofline are its most distinctive features. A flat front and centralchimney are also recognizable traits.
The saltbox is an example ofAmerican colonial architecture, although it probably originated in Kent and East Anglia, coming across with the first wave of Puritans.[1] Its shape evolved organically as an economical way to enlarge a house by adding ashed to a home's rear.
Original hand-riven oakclapboards are still in place on some of the earliest New England saltboxes, such as theComfort Starr House andEphraim Hawley House. Once part of their exteriors, they are preserved in place in attics that were created whenshed-roofed additions were added onto the homes.
The style was popular for structures throughout thecolonial period and into theearly Republic for its ability to enlarge the footprint of an existing structure at a minimum of cost. It was most common inMassachusetts, theConnecticut Valley, and in theWestern Reserve ofOhio in the period from 1620 to mid 1700s, but continued to be built until around 1820.[2]
Saltbox homes can also be found in parts ofNewfoundland and Labrador[3] as well as in parts of Michigan'sKeweenaw Peninsula.[4]
The roof style is also known as acatslide roof – any roof that, in part, extends down below the maineave height, providing greater area under the roof.[5] If the roof continues at the same pitch, it is considered a "continuous catslide".[6]In the United States, the term is applied to roofs on houses in the Southeast, especially stretching fromMaryland south and west throughKentucky, 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.[2] 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.[7]
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 frontvestibule could have a small catslide roof perpendicular to the main roof. Adormer could be designed with a catslide.[8]
Characteristic of most early New England colonial houses, early saltboxes weretimber framed. Also known as post-and-beam construction, the techniquejoins large pieces of wood withmortise 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 woodensiding. TheJosiah Day House inWest Springfield, Massachusetts, is constructed of brick.[9]
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