A saltbox house is a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

-roofed residential structure that is typically two stories in the front and one in the rear. It is a traditional

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

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 A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typical ...

are also recognizable traits.

Origins

The saltbox is an example of

American colonial architecture American colonial architecture includes several building design styles associated with the Colonial history of the United States, colonial period of the United States, including First Period English (late-medieval), Spanish Colonial, French Colon ...

, although it probably originated in Kent and East Anglia, coming across with the first wave of Puritans. Its shape evolved organically as an economical way to enlarge a house by adding a

shed A shed is typically a simple, single-storey (though some sheds may have two or more stories and or a loft) roofed structure, often used for storage, for hobby, hobbies, or as a workshop, and typically serving as outbuilding, such as in a bac ...

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 Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, the Connecticut Valley, and in the Western Reserve of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

in the period from 1620 to mid 1700s, but continued to be built until around 1820. Saltbox homes can also be found in parts of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

as well as in parts of Michigan's

Keweenaw Peninsula The Keweenaw Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the greater landmass of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula, the Keweenaw Peninsula projects about northeasterly into Lake Superior, forming Keweena ...

Catslide

The roof style is also known as a catslide roof – any roof that, in part, extends down below the main

eave The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...

height, providing greater area under the roof. If the roof continues at the same pitch, it is considered a "continuous catslide". In the United States, the term is applied to roofs on houses in the Southeast, especially stretching from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

south and west through

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, 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. 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. 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 A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a Roof pitch, pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the ...

could be designed with a catslide.

Construction

Characteristic of most early New England colonial houses, early saltboxes were timber framed. Also known as post-and-beam construction, the technique

joins Join may refer to: * Join (law), to include additional counts or additional defendants on an indictment *In mathematics: ** Join (mathematics), a least upper bound of sets orders in lattice theory ** Join (topology), an operation combining two top ...

large pieces of wood with

mortise and tenon A mortise and tenon (occasionally mortice and tenon) is a Woodworking joints, joint that connects two pieces of wood or other material. Woodworking, Woodworkers around the world have used it for thousands of years to join pieces of wood, mainly ...

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.

Images

File:Thomas Hawley House Monroe, Connecticut rear view.jpg, Multiple-pitched rear roof Thomas Hawley House File:EdmundRiceHome1643.jpg, Edmund Rice homestead in Sudbury (now Wayland, Massachusetts), destroyed by fire c. 1912 File:Macy-Colby House (front) - Amesbury, Massachusetts.JPG, c. 1651 Macy–Colby House, Amesbury, Massachusetts File:John Adams birthplace, Quincy, Massachusetts.JPG, c. 1681 John Adams Birthplace, Quincy, Massachusetts File:Ephraim Hawley House Jan 2011.JPG, c. 1683 Ephraim Hawley House, Nichols, Connecticut File:Comfort_Starr_House.jpg, c. 1695 Comfort Starr House, Guilford, Connecticut File:Saltbox_side_elevation.png, Side elevation of c. 1695 Comfort Starr House illustrating the multiple-pitched roof line File:Josiah Day House.jpg, c. 1754 Brick Josiah Day House West Springfield, Massachusetts File:Sturgeon House 2.jpg, c. 1838, Sturgeon House, Fairview, Pennsylvania

References

External links