Question about digging a privy

[Walker1200]

Hi all,

I'm new to digging bottles, and naturally, I've got some questions. I've found that bottle digging is something my wife and kids enjoy doing too, so its definitely important to me to pursue the hobby. I have access to an 1830s farmhouse and have permission to locate and dig the privy. In theory, once its located (with a probe), does it make more sense to dig directly over where the opening was...or does it make more sense to dig right next to it and then go into the privy from the side? From everything I've read, listened to, and watched so far...I haven't been able figure that one out. Thanks in advance!

Cheers!

-Kerry

 

[hemihampton]

Privy's on Farm house's I've found be be harder to find then the City due to the much more wide open space & acres. BUT, Once you do find it go straight in from the top down. But, on many instances I've done this & dug out the privy, Then, many times you can probe the side walls & probe into another privy right next to it, SO, In that case you would be going in from the side. I've done this may times. LEON.

 

[Walker1200]

Hey Leon,

Thank you for the info! That does make sense. You're right that its going to be a challenge to locate the privy. If I do find it, I'll dig into the sidewalls to see if there is an adjacent privy as well. When you dig your initial hole, do you go wider than the privy hole or just wide enough to fit inside of it?

-Kerry

 

[hemihampton]

Me & my Digging Buddy usually start by cutting out the sod in little squares, maybe 1 foot by 1 foot at a time until we got a 3'x3' or 4'x4' square. If it is bigger you'll find out when you get to the bottom & bottles or trash continue into the sidewalls. LEON.

 

[Walker1200]

How do you know when you reach the bottom of the privy? Will the dirt look a certain way?

-Kerry

 

[hemihampton]

YES, It does look a certain way, lots of times near the bottom just before you hit the bottles you'll come across a layer of white ash. under that layer at bottom is the bottles. Sometimes you'll run into bottles on your way down before you hit bottom but most of the good older stuff at very bottom, once you try to get past the bottom you'll notice the ground will get very hard. I always probe the bottom & walls when done, alot of guys I've dug with don't & miss stuff because of that. LEON.

P.S. that's my experience here in Michigan, other States will vary in many ways.

 

[Walker1200]

This is great info. Thank you for taking the time to reply!! Hopefully I'll find some history to share soon!

-Kerry

 

[Kevin S.]

How do you know when you reach the bottom of the privy? Will the dirt look a certain way?

-Kerry

The bottom of an outhouse is the "seed layer". Once you begin running into a bit of a thick patch of assorted seeds, you know you've reached its bottom.

I'd also check with the people living there and see if they may have old photos of the place, that makes it simple to find the privy.

 

[Walker1200]

So I went probing for the privy at the farmhouse today. I probed all around the areas I thought it might be, based on the position of the house and the wind. I didn't have much luck except near a set of telephone poles. It was the only place the probe went all the way down. Would this be because the area was disturbed to put in the poles, or is it worth digging a test hole? The tip of the probe came out wet, so it was tough to know what the dirt looked like.

 

[hemihampton]

A lot of the Privies I find are near Telephone Polls. That because many telephone poles are on the property line & mark corners of Property lines & that's where you are most likely to find them. That spot you found I'd do a small test hole, like maybe 2 feet by 2 feet diameter & head straight down till you hit glass or hit something? Good Luck. LEON.