| Hello,
we are in Mrs. Markowitz’s fourth grade class and we built this
Saltbox Colonial home. Before we started building and writing about the
home we looked up a lot of information on the Internet and in books and
want to share it with you. Our group built the exterior of the home. The
exterior is the outside of the home. This is what we learned. This colonial home is called a “Saltbox” but where is the salt? It is called a saltbox because it looks like the wooden boxes colonists stored salt in. The saltbox home was built mostly in the New England Colonies. The area today is known as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut. As early as 1650 saltbox homes were being built in the area. |
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The
home has a symmetrical design which means if you cut the house in half
both sides look the same. The front door is in the center with two windows
on both sides. The second floor has four windows. All the windows are
the same size. Wooden boards known as clapboards were used for the home’s siding. In the New England Colonies there were a lot of large sturdy trees to make the clapboards. The boards overlapped to keep the warm air inside and the cold air outside. The stone fireplace and chimney were usually in the center of the home. This kept the home warmer. The roof sloped at the back of the home. The sloped roof allowed snow to slide off and not damage the home. The home had two floors in the front and one in the back. |
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Successful farmers, shop owners, government officers and their families would have been able to afford a saltbox home. A family, who lived in a town, might have a small flower, vegetable and herb garden. A family, who lived on a farm, would have a lot of land surrounding the home. The land would be used for crops and farm animals. Did you know the second United States President, John Adams, lived in a saltbox home as a child? |
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Web page design, photography, sound recording and writing by Stephen P., Carly S., Caroline Z., Samantha W., and Bryan W. |
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June 22, 2004