beginner privy question

[farmerdan]

I do most of my digging on Long Island's south shore, where we are blessed with many very old towns. The soil structure here usually consists of 2 to 4 feet of soft topsoil, sometimes a thin layer of gravel, and under that it's pure soft sand. We also have a high water table - dig 8 feet almost anywhere and you can hit water.(some places it's less than 4!) My question is - What kind of privies am I looking for? I'm thinking shallow woodies - maybe brick, but the only brickers I've found have been cisterns. Any ideas of what type of pits they would have used under these conditions? I haven't found one yet, so I sure don't know! help!

 

[madman]

HEY FARMER HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A ROCKAWAY BEACH HUTCH???

 

[madman]

HEY DAN NOT SURE ON THE PRIVIES UP THAT WAY IM GUESSING BRICKERS AND WOODYS, ALSO ID DIG THOSE CISTERNS POST YER FINDS

 

[farmerdan]

Yes madman, I've seen hutches from the Rockaways, but so far, none in my collection. I'm way East on the Island, and a lot of stuff that wasn't local was shipped across the Long Island Sound from New England. To dig rockaway hutches, I would have to travel closer to that area. Oh yeah the cisterns - One I dug years ago was HUGE and LOADED with 1890's to TOC. fun dig. The others I've found have been deemed too new or newly filled to be worthwhile. (1930's-'40s - filled with brick and 'crete chunks, etc. [:'(]) I will definitely keep you guys posted on anything I find. P.S .you got any Rockaway hutches????

 

[madman]

I DEW KNOW OF OF EARLY ROCKAWAY BEACH EARLY HUTCH READS ROCKAWAY BEACH LI. IT MIGHT BE FOR SALE?

 

[madman]

AHH YOU GUYS ARE LUCKY UP NORTH ID BE HAPPY TO DIG A 30S CISTERN LOL

 

[farmerdan]

Found a new 1860's site today! help me out guys! (bump...lol).... Ill let the thread die after this one I promise[]

 

[RedGinger]

There is a cool site by some people who kayak along the Hudson and find beach glass, bottles, and the like. I'll try to find it for you. Seems like a similar area to your's. I'm not sure where you are in relation to it. I think it was Nyack? Looks like a great place to live.

http://artonhudson.com/latestactivity.aspx

There you go. Just scroll down and click on some of the links on the left. This may not even pertain to where you're located, but it's fun and interesting nonetheless.

 

[madman]

nyack ny????

 

[farmerdan]

yeah Nyack is a real town...(although it sounds like a bad night at the bar)[:'(] It's "upstate" as we "Lawngylandas" would say - off the island in the Hudson Valley - and yeah it's a real nice place to live. lots of history to it as well. I believe there's some Revolutionary war battlefields around there. I've got a german earthenware wine jug that my grandpa found on a battlefield across the hudson in nearby Dobbs Ferry NY - I'll post a pic soon on a new thread