Privies near Sawmill?

ScottyinCT · Dec 3, 2012

Hi. I'm new to the forum. I've always picked up and collected old bottles from old dumps in the woods, not really realizing it was a widespread hobby until recently. I live in SE Connecticut and I will be moving next week to a house that has on old sawmill site in the backyard. There's a pond and stone foundation, etc. The mill is at least as old as 1868 cause it is marked on a map from that time. These kind of small "neighborhood-type" mills were very common at this time. My question is did these little mills generally have privies nearby? Has anyone had luck digging privies next to little 19th century mills?

DIGS CHESCO · Dec 3, 2012

Hello Scotty, welcome to the forum. I've only probed around one mill, it was an early 19th century grist mill. Although I didn't find the privy in my attempt I found alot of small shallow springs that felt like privies, and there was some excavating done to the ground in recent years that reduced my chances of pinpointing a pit. To answer your question there should be a privy near your saw mill, any commercial building (i.e barn, store, mill, black smith shop etc..) should have a seperate privy and it's worth your while to find it.

Good luck
Tom

beendiggin · Dec 3, 2012

I have also considered the possiblities of digging near these sites as there was a mill of some kind on every water source where I live. In my research I have noticed that the outhouses where placed outside the building walls so that everything dropped into the water. Probably diving is the way to go. Never found much on the ground.

ScottyinCT · Dec 3, 2012

Thanks for the replies. We hopefully move into our new house on Thursday. After we settle in I'll poke around the mill site and take some pics. More to come.

myersdiggers1998 · Dec 3, 2012

go to utube and look up old mill race digs series, by mudslideslim.

tigue710 · Dec 3, 2012

Hi Scotty, I'm from your area originally and dug extensively around there. Chances are I've looked around your mill site! Doesn't mean I found anything there though...

These small mills in Connecticut were often not run full time, and sometimes were operated communally. Sometimes they were only used by the community for community projects or just put into use when board lumber was needed. This means that there not always someone there nor a need for a privy. As Paul said if there was one it was usually over the water. The mills were sometimes places where men got together and socialized, if so they might of shared in some liberal libations while there. Other times they were part of a farm. When they were on the farm trash was often dumped near them, or if the "folks" got together they had some bottles to get rid of. I've found in South Eastern CT that they either dumped trash down the side of the dam or filling in the dam itself, under the building or along the gully below the dam. They very rarely dumped anything in the mill pond. Behind any walls is also a good pace to look.

Wish you luck, it can take quite a few return trips to find the early dumps around these mill sites. I do know that people in southern CT were neat and clean and often hid the trash well. Walls were a favorite place to stuff trash into or behind...

Privies near Sawmill?

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