Privy experts, attention!

[Wheelah23]

I'm gonna check out a potential town dump site tomorrow, then I think I'll probe a little. Side of the yard is seeming more and more likely.

I've learned never to trust Sanborn maps when it comes to privy locations. One house I dug had a privy up until 1917. I found tons of c. 1910 bottles in it. And look at the 1906 map of the place... nothing marked where the privy should be. I think privies being marked may have been a regional thing.

 

[Wheelah23]

However, there is this on an 1885 map... It's behind a school. Imagine all the good ink bottles that could come out of this privy! However, I'm pretty sure it's under a parking lot now... [] Looks like they had a W.C. for boys and one for girls.

 

[tigue710]

the truth is in the probe for sure, its always nice to have a lead though... I've found sanborns with the privy marked in one yard and not in the yard next door... for the most part they are always later holes that can suck to dig, but some areas they used the same pit for 50 years and just cleaned it out... I got lucky with the first town I dug privy's heavy in because they were almost all marked, the same pit used forever, but a foot of 1850-1860's trash in the bottom!

Sanborn only marked buildings that were insured, or with-in a certain distance and a fire hazard to insured buildings... Privys were most often not insured but now and then someone did insure them, it was required to add them to the map or some other reason got them on there... Its drastically different from town to town... there's no rule to it though... even on the same map page you could have a privy marked in one yard and not in the next... I will say Ive found a lot of holes with sanborn maps while other times the wernt worth the ink I printed them with... I like to take advantage of every resource I can..

 

[tigue710]

ORIGINAL: Wheelah23

However, there is this on an 1885 map... It's behind a school. Imagine all the good ink bottles that could come out of this privy! However, I'm pretty sure it's under a parking lot now... [] Looks like they had a W.C. for boys and one for girls.

yep I think your right... must of been a fancy private school with that covered walk all the way back to the thunder shack!

on a side note sometimes the W,.C.'s were just wash rooms with tubs and sinks and no toilets... or they were full baths separate from the house that were connected to the city sewer, sometime very early in eastern cities...

 

[baltbottles]

Here is a sample Block all the black dots I added were privies of various construction.

Chris

 

[wolffbp]

Awesome Chris, looks like you pretty much killed that block! Hope you were rewarded well.

 

[andy g]

Chris, I think you missed a few. What happened?

 

[tigue710]

man that one block probably adds up to 1/3 of all the privy's Ive dug! Im guessing that was like a long weekend for you guys!

 

[Wheelah23]

Chris, get up here... You're finding this privy whether you like it or not! [8D]

 

[epackage]

Chris that's just awesome detail and info, I think connors situation is slightly different from Row Houses because where he is there are alot of houses on Big Lots and no real Row House areas...It was wide open farm country in alot of places up here unless you're in Paterson....Jim

In fact on a tract like that you might not have more than 3-4 homes...