Home Home Design & Decor The History of the Saltbox House, a Timeless Style of New England Architecture Dating back to the 1600s, saltbox houses remain simple, traditional, and steeped in history. By Tim Latterner and Blythe Copeland Blythe Copeland Blythe Copeland is a contributing writer with more than a decade of experience as a freelance lifestyle writer. Editorial Guidelines Updated on July 5, 2023 In This Article View All In This Article What Is a Saltbox House? History Historical Examples Enduring Popularity Modern Takes Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: cindygoff / GETTY IMAGES Whether you're escaping the city for a summer road trip through quiet New England towns or roaming picturesque streets dotted with Colonial-era houses as you gaze at fall foliage, a trip to the Northeast United States guarantees exposure to some of the country's finest architecture. One great example: the saltbox house. These houses, known for their flat front, centered chimney, and asymmetrical, sloping roof, reflect a very traditional aesthetic. But modernists and traditionalists alike also appreciate the style, both for its historical heritage and its sleek, angular lines. This Nantucket Beach House Showcases the Power of Neutrals What Is a Saltbox House? Originally named for the wooden salt boxes common in the Colonial era, which had a sloped front lid, saltbox houses are typically built from wood. They are easily spotted by their distinctive long, slanted roof, which drops from two stories in the front of the building to a single story in the rear. KenWiedemann / GETTY IMAGES A Look at All of Martha's Beautiful Homes Over the Years The History of Saltbox Houses The style was first formed by homeowners who wanted to add on to their existing homes. Many homes were originally built with a central chimney that divided the kitchen from the parlor on the first floor (bedrooms were built on the second floor). When dwellers were ready for more space, they would move the kitchen into a lean-to addition on the rear of the house and extend the roofline down over the new room. The sloping, extended roof helped snow melt and slide to the ground more efficiently in the harsher New England winters. It's also said that the tax on two-story homes levied by Queen Anne in the late 1600s and early 1700s helped popularize the style, as the single-story rear section rendered the architectural design exempt from extra fees. "This tax gave rise to an architecture graceful and inviting, with long curving roofs sloping evenly from each side of the ridge-pole to the upper line of the first story, thus giving but one story that would count, while the roof covered two or three more," Jane de Forest Shelton wrote in her book The Salt-Box House: Eighteenth Century Life in a New England Hill Town. Protected and Preserved Saltbox Houses The Smith-Hoxie House in Sandwich, Mass., is just one of the country's remaining Colonial saltbox homes. As a means of preserving the history of the style, several well-cared for examples of saltbox houses are on the National Register of Historic Places. The Library of Congress contains prints and photographs for dozens of saltbox houses throughout New England, including: The Rebecca Nurse Homestead, "a 17th century site associated with the Salem Village Witchcraft Hysteria of 1692," in Massachusetts The birthplaces of John Adams and John Quincy Adams, which are 75 feet apart in Quincy, Mass. The Deacon John Grave House in Connecticut, where nine generations of the Grave family lived consecutively from 1685 until 1978 The "well-preserved" Old Parsonage in Newington, N.H., which retains its just-built look from 1725 Maine's Jefferds Tavern, built in 1750 and relocated to York in 1941 to serve as a museum and events venue Wirestock / GETTY IMAGES The Enduring Popularity of the Saltbox House Today, saltbox homes have stretched far beyond their New England roots. A favorite of professional designers, saltbox houses offer versatility in their straightforward layout and linear look. "The geometry of the house is so clean and simple," says interior designer Kelly Siekierka. "Anyone looking at this style of home should try to honor the history foremost, but also make as much use of the light-filled rooms as possible, thanks to the large windows around the exteriors." The interior architecture of the house also reflects the surrounding natural elements by incorporating post-and-beam construction and wooden trusses. With the homes often set among the trees and nature, designing one today would require considering the natural elements in any plan. patty_c / GETTY IMAGES 20 Design Experts Share Their Best Tips for Curating a Home You Will Love Modernizing a Saltbox House Despite the fact that the style dates all the way back to the 1600s, saltbox architecture still feels fresh and modern—especially in the right surroundings. "I have always loved the perfect imbalance of a saltbox house. The function of the two-story front and deeply-sloped back roof inspires all kinds of landscaping opportunities," says designer Alison Rose. "Playing with scale, and the trees and things that surround the home are all such integral parts of any design of one, inside and out." Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources Martha Stewart is committed to using high-quality, reputable sources—including peer-reviewed studies—to support the facts in our articles. Read about our editorial policies and standards to learn more about how we fact check our content for accuracy. Saltbox | architecture | Britannica. Facts about saltbox houses. Early New England Homes.