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New England Salt Box Colonial House The New England Salt Box: Adding a single-story lean-to shed to the back of a one-and -one-half or two-story, one-room deep house was the most practical method of gaining more space. The resulting shape of this new house was that of a medieval saltbox, hence it's name. In most saltboxes the lean-to addition was divided into three rooms: a central kitchen with its new fireplace and oven; a 'borning room', reserved for childbirth and the ill; and a pantry. Sometimes a rear stair, located near the pantry, led up to a low-ceilinged storage space. The construction of the new fireplace and oven, always adjacent to the existing chimney, meant the addition of a new flue, resulting in a "T" shaped chimney. By 1680, the Saltbox Style had become so popular that houses were being built with the lean-to as part of the original construction, with the roof line unbroken from the ridge to the rear wall. The saltbox grew from the early stone ender to a comfortable three-bedroom house over a period of about thirty years as families grew in size and became wealthier. More info on Saltbox Houses  Although many styles became popular over time, the basic construction methods of the wood-frame house remained the same for over 200 years. This frame was hewn from on-site oak trees and was erected by most of the townspeople at a hell-raising event known as a house raising. Shown on these two pages is a four-step sequence illustrating the construction of a two-story house that was later converted into a saltbox. Models come in railroad scales of HO, N, & Z. Make complete towns and villages. Also great for war gamming Cyber Model    This model has been re mastered and a nice layout has been added.