Could it be a privy?

[norflo2norcal]

My parents live in northeast Florida on a very historic piece of land. I've discovered lots of old bottles along the riverbank in front of their house. But now I'm wondering about spots to dig on land. There is a depression in their dirt driveway that has remained after years and years of attempts to fill it in with dirt and yard debris. Could this be a privy? My mom has agreed to let me dig it. Gotta convince my pop now, since it would mean re-routing the driveway for quite some time while I work on it, and I'll probably be digging it alone since my husband refuses to dig in a "100 year old s***hole". But I'm game to do it if it might yield some old bottles. What do you think?

 

[swizzle]

Could be a small number of things. A sink hole, a cistern or a privy. The only way to know for sure is to dig. With a proper bottle probe you could probe for the sides to see what shape if any is there. I say dig but be prepared with extra back fill. There's a few privy diggers on here that can give you some decent advice. Most of them dig a pit in a day depending on how deep they are. Good luck and I hope you have a gold mine when you hit bottom. Swiz

 

[norflo2norcal]

Thanks for the info, Swiz. I'm moving back this area in Florida in September, so I want to use the summer to plan my attack. I have a good probe, so I'll definitely start that way. Also, there was an old log cabin on their property that they finally had torn down about 10 years ago because it was on the verge of collapse. It was slightly raised off the ground, and had a trap door in one of the corners of the floor. I always wondered if it was used to dump something out of the building without going outside, or if it was some sort of escape route. I'm thinking it might be another good spot to probe around. Any thoughts anyone?

 

[RedGinger]

If you have any old pictures of the house, that might help to see what was there before the driveway. If it was a path before it was a driveway, it doesn't sound like a privy. Swiz has some good advice, though. What kind of bottles have you found?

I would definitely look under that trap door! Many old buildings used those to dump their trash or store things.

 

[norflo2norcal]

I would love to find some photos. It used to be a huge house that the lady owner turned into a hotel for folks vacationing down from the northern states. This was how she could afford to stay in the house when she had no other income. This was back in the 1800's. Half of it was on my parents' lot, and half was on their neighbor's lot. The neighbor's lot still contains a spring fed springing pool from back in the hotel days, as well as a cistern, and there's a cistern on my parents' lot.

I posted some of the bottles I've already found here: https://www.antique-bottles.net/forum/m-408816/mpage-1/key-/tm.htm#408875

 

[RICKJJ59W]

ORIGINAL: norflo2norcal

My parents live in northeast Florida on a very historic piece of land. I've discovered lots of old bottles along the riverbank in front of their house. But now I'm wondering about spots to dig on land. There is a depression in their dirt driveway that has remained after years and years of attempts to fill it in with dirt and yard debris. Could this be a privy? My mom has agreed to let me dig it. Gotta convince my pop now, since it would mean re-routing the driveway for quite some time while I work on it, and I'll probably be digging it alone since my husband refuses to dig in a "100 year old s***hole". But I'm game to do it if it might yield some old bottles. What do you think?

Start to dig some of the top stuff out,dig down to about 3 feet,get back on here and tell me what you see.The only way to find out what it is ------------(JUST DIG IT) []

 

[swizzle]

I agree with Red on searching the basement/trapdoor area. You might have more then one spot to dig. Swiz

 

[norflo2norcal]

Thanks, guys. I'm definitely hitting this spot as soon as I get back to Florida. I just found some historic photos of the area online, but nothing that shows me outhouses, or even the cabin. []

I asked my mom if she had ever dug the spot where the trapdoor was. She said a little, but not deep. I think it's still worth further investigation....

 

[creeper71]

ORIGINAL: RICKJJ59W

ORIGINAL: norflo2norcal

My parents live in northeast Florida on a very historic piece of land.  I've discovered lots of old bottles along the riverbank in front of their house.  But now I'm wondering about spots to dig on land.  There is a depression in their dirt driveway that has remained after years and years of attempts to fill it in with dirt and yard debris.  Could this be a privy?  My mom has agreed to let me dig it.  Gotta convince my pop now, since it would mean re-routing the driveway for quite some time while I work on it, and I'll probably be digging it alone since my husband refuses to dig in a "100 year old s***hole".  But I'm game to do it if it might yield some old bottles.  What do you think?

Start to dig some of the top stuff out,dig down to about 3 feet,get back on here and tell me what you see.The only way to find out what it is ------------(JUST DIG IT)   []

I think to make it easier for Rick you should do what he says except for telling him just take a bunch of clear pics for him to see... he probly can tell you more by seeing then reading what you found...

 

[norflo2norcal]

Hi guys! I'm back in Florida, and began my first "privy dig" today. Maybe you all can give me some insight......

I mentioned to you all about the depression in the driveway, and the log cabin location. I definitely intend to dig both, but I chose a different spot to dig today for my first try. Near the old cabin location, I noticed 4 depressions all in a line, each about 10-15 feet apart. Hoping these were privies (I've read when privies were moved, they were only moved about 10 feet), I began digging one of these. In the first shovel full, I found a rusted hinge. Digging a bit more, I found a few more pieces of hinge, and some old rusted nails. In this depth, I was also finding coal and ash. Further down, I found a single glass shard. I now have the hole about 3 feet deep, and am into beautiful clean white sand. Should I keep going, or does this even sound like a privy?