32. The Saltbox

This housing shape dates back to colonial times in the United States when they used a box, shaped in this manner, to store salt, a very important commodity at the time.
Two and 2 1/2 story houses used to keep the box immediately behind the house (often a severely plain Georgian). Sometime prior to 1680, one of the builders simply extended his back roofline to make the shed a part of the house...and the new 'Saltbox style' was created.
(In the U.S. South-East, this style is call a 'Cat Slide').

What to look for (clues)

• The house must be sufficiently large so that the back roof could be properly extended. This roof is usually a straight line, but not always.

• The large chimney is generally located in the back center of the house. The Canadian version, as you can see, differs.

• Most early saltboxes are lacking any form of decoration.

• The entryway is usually in the center of the facade.

Where to find it

The Saltbox is generally located in the oldest sections of a town or city. The house shown here can be found along the Credit River in Brampton.
The most interesting Saltbox I discovered was in St. Stephens, New Brunswick. When the War of 1812 began the building was floated across the St. Croix River from Calais, Maine to St. Stephens. (There had always been a close friendship between the peoples of the two towns. Believe it or not, at least up until the recent changes, fire engines from both towns reacted to blazes on both side of the border!!)