The Prentis House, built in 1773 in
Hadley, Massachusetts
Hadley (, ) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,325 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area around the Hampshire and Mountain Farms Ma ...
, by the Dickinson family, is typical of the indigenous style of
saltbox architecture that developed in
New England during the
Colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
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* Colonial (1920 a ...
period and remained in use, particularly in rural areas, through the
American Revolution. The Prentis House was relocated to the
Shelburne Museum
Shelburne Museum is a museum of art, design, and Americana located in Shelburne, Vermont, United States. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in 39 exhibition buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the museum grounds. It is located ...
in
Shelburne, Vermont
Shelburne is a New England town, town in Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located along the shores of Lake Champlain, Shelburne's town center lies approximately south of the city center of Burlington, Vermont, ...
, and furnished with 17th and 18th century period furniture and decorative arts.
Saltbox architecture developed as builders devised a simple way to enlarge a two-story frame building. The term "saltbox" refers to the structure's characteristic asymmetrical roofline that extends on one side from the peak of the roof to the first floor, thus resembling the profile of an early wooden salt container. Builders would typically position a saltbox structure so that the extended roof faced north, diminishing the impact of winter winds, while the façade windows faced south, collecting warmth from the sun.
Typical of the style, Prentis House is built around a massive central chimney. Seven
flues meet on the second floor in a huge beehive-shaped formation before the chimney narrows again at the roofline.
[Shelburne Museum. 1993. ''Shelburne Museum: A Guide to the Collections''. Shelburne: Shelburne Museum, Inc.]
References
External links
Shelburne Museum website
{{Shelburne Museum Buildings
Shelburne Museum
Historic house museums in Vermont
Saltbox architecture in the United States
Houses in Chittenden County, Vermont
Relocated buildings and structures in Vermont
Houses completed in 1773
1773 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay