Privy experts, attention!

[Wheelah23]

Need some privy finding advice. This house was originally a "salt box" type construction in 1824. In 1875, there was a big addition to it, which covered the well, which the homeowner knows is in the crawlspace. I'd love to dig out the well, but it's in a 2 ft crawlspace... Anyone ever dug in such a situation?

Anyway, I probed the place for an hour or so today, finding nothing. My only worry is that the privy is under the driveway or garage/garden, which is at the very back of the property. My question to you guys is, where could the privy be? In this picture, the left is the house in 1906, and the right is the house and property lines now. Not much has changed I guess, but still... The garage worries me. On the right, I pointed out the backdoor of the house... It was the same but further back in the 1824 house.

My head is swimming with dreams of 1820's flasks... But that ain't gonna happen until I find the privy! Help? [&:]

 

[RedGinger]

I'd say, try this spot.

 

[edndlm]

Connor , if I was new to digging privies & I had a chance to probe out an 1820's pit , I would bring in a more experienced prober / digger . No offense , but those older pits can be very subtle and not easy to find . There may be some pits under structures or pavement , but chances are there are multiple pits . JJ & I found and dug 14 pits in a yard once . Another time we probed an 1740's house all day & only found one pit in the corner of a barn foundation . Good Luck !

 

[Wheelah23]

That spot now has the remains of a fish pond, currently filled with concrete... But around it, the soil in the top few feet was very crunchy, but not with ash. I'd guess I was picking up the remains of the small outbuildings' foundations or something. I'll certainly concentrate more on that area when I return though, I was focusing primarily on a straight line from the back door out. That's worked for 3/4 of the privies so far... Were it so easy this time... [:'(]

No offense taken, Ed. I'm just trying to probe the yard as much as possible so that we have more time to dig on Sunday. I'm gonna dig with Mike (hopefully), and he will probe with me on Saturday... Hopefully I'll have found it before then! If I can find it myself, it'll save us that much time.

 

[tigue710]

on the adjoining property to the right there is a long slender shed on the sanborn map, which on the satellite looks to be the site of a garage now... Somewhere along the property line there is a very likely spot... Try probing under that garage too!

 

[Wheelah23]

Why would it be along the side of the property? I suppose it's possible, but I've never heard of privies being located like that. If that is the case, I've gotta hope the privy is in between the driveway and the fence... I didn't really probe in that area, so you may be right!

Here's a shot of the next door property in 1906... 312 is 1840's, but I got turned down there because the lady didn't speak English...

Keep in mind I've never seen a household privy marked on a Sanborn map. I've seen large buildings which were obviously bathrooms marked "W.C.", but never a one person privy.

Also, what are the two outbuildings I circled? There's no marks identifying them. I doubt they're privies.

 

[RedGinger]

I was thinking the two you have circled could be the privy (I should have just circled that). I guess it could be in between the chicken coops, but that seems like a long way to go, to go to the bathroom. I also agree with Tigue on checking that thing on the right out, on the adjoining property.

 

[Wheelah23]

I'll be back in a couple hours with some research on this house and others... Hopefully the historical society can help me out. I've donated stuff to them, so I think they like me! [8D]

 

[KBbottles]

Very interesting, Connor. I don't know about digging a well in a crawlspace. I imagine that could be very difficult and/or dangerous. 1820s should yield mostly ceramics which are fantastic to save and piece together if broken. Could be some very cool early pontil glass in there too. The crawlspace could have plenty of stuff down there as well. Good luck!!

 

[edndlm]

Connor , there is no reason they couldn't be along side line , which is actually the neighbors rear line or side line depending on the neighbor . Having privies back to back ( or side to back ) would make sense to me .