houseman
Well-Known Member
I went to a recently demolished house this weekend to look for a privy. The house is on a 1912 Sanborn map and it shows what appears to be an outhouse at the back of the lot, approximately 50 feet from the back door of the house. I probed around the yard but concentrated on that area. I found one spot in the whole yard where the probe went all the way in without hitting any obstructions. This was a small spot...move an inch in any direction and the probe wouldn't go down more than a foot. I dug a test hole and hit clay with large rocks about a foot down. I couldn't dig the rocks out by myself but I was able to probe between a couple of the rocks and the probe went all the way down (that one little spot again). I was probing to about five feet at that point and the probe tip only brought up more clay.
This appears to be the spot that shows the outhouse on the map but I couldn't do anything with it. Would any of you experienced privy diggers really try to dig out these rocks and see what's there or would you pass? Any advice? This was my first ever attempt at a privy dig so I was really just jumping into it blindly.
This appears to be the spot that shows the outhouse on the map but I couldn't do anything with it. Would any of you experienced privy diggers really try to dig out these rocks and see what's there or would you pass? Any advice? This was my first ever attempt at a privy dig so I was really just jumping into it blindly.