A classic saltbox, located in Lincoln, Massachusetts

A saltbox is a wooden frame house with a long, pitched roof that slopes down to the back. Lincoln is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs Framing, in construction known as light frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members usually called studs, which provide a stable Vietnam roofjpg|thumb|The roofs of Vietnam.]] A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a Building. A saltbox has just one story in the back and two stories in the front. A storey (spelled story in the USA only floor, deck or level is the level of a Building above (or below the Ground. 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. A chimney is a system for venting hot Flue gases or Smoke from a Boiler, Stove, Furnace or Fireplace to the outside

C: 1805 saltbox built by Truman Gillet (b. 1783). Now the Truman Gillet House Bed and Breakfast in Granby, Connecticut. Granby is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. Connecticut ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America.

Origins

The Comfort Starr House, Guilford, New Haven County, Connecticut

The saltbox originated in New England, and is an example of American colonial architecture. Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Branford, North Branford Connecticut ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. History See also History of New England New England's earliest inhabitants were Algonquian -speaking Native Americans including the American colonial architecture includes several building design styles associated with the colonial period of the United States including First Period English (late-medieval It was popularized by Queen Anne's taxation of structures greater than one story. Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714 became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702 succeeding William III of England and II of Property tax, or millage tax, is an Ad valorem tax that an owner pays on the value of the property being taxed Since the rear of saltboxes descended to the height of a single-story building, the structure was exempt from the tax. ^[1][2]

The style was popular for structures throughout the colonial period and into the early Republic, perhaps because of the simplicity of its design. The Thirteen Colonies were part of what became known as British America, a name that was used by Great Britain until the Treaty of Paris (1783 recognized the Between 1776 and 1789, the United States became an independent country creating and ratifying its new constitution, and establishing of the federal government The earliest saltbox-like houses were created when a lean-to addition was added onto the rear of the house. Old weathered clapboards are still in place on parts of the original rear walls of the earliest New England homes. Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board (with regional variants as to the exact definitions of these terms is a Board The hand-riven oak clapboards on the Ephraim Hawley House are preserved in place in the attic created when the lean-to was added. The Ephraim Hawley House is a Historic Colonial American Wooden Post-and-beam Saltbox Farm house built in 1683 by Ephraim The oak clapboards still bear traces of the original red paint.

Construction

1683 Riven oak clapboards Ephraim Hawley House, Trumbull, Fairfield County, Connecticut

End elevation of a saltbox house, illustrating the distinctive roof line

Saltboxes, along with many other types of colonial houses, can be considered to be timber-frame houses. The Ephraim Hawley House is a Historic Colonial American Wooden Post-and-beam Saltbox Farm house built in 1683 by Ephraim Trumbull is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Named after the extremely large area of salt-marshes and swamps both on the coast and inland Fairfield County is located in the southwestern corner of the U Timber framing, or post-and-beam construction, involves joining large pieces of wood with woodworking joints, such as mortise-and-tenon joints, or with wooden pegs, braces, or trusses. Timber framing (Fachwerk or Half-timbering, is the method of creating framed structures of heavy timber jointed together with pegged Mortise and tenon joints In the fields of Architecture and Civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the Building or assembling of Infrastructure Woodworking is the process of building making or carving something using Wood. Simple and strong the mortise and tenon joint has been used for millennia by Woodworkers around the world to join pieces of Wood, usually when the pieces Metal nails were sparingly used, because of their expense. Timber frame construction was the construction method for all frame houses in 17th- and 18th-century America, where the abundance of wood made the timber frame house popular. The exterior of a saltbox was often finished with clapboard or other wooden siding. Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board (with regional variants as to the exact definitions of these terms is a Board This article is about the house covering See Rail siding for an alternative usage of this term

References

External links

• Saltbox Houses in the Historic American Buildings Survey
• Timber-frame Houses in the Historic American Buildings Survey