Whats up now?

[appliedlips]

Keep focused on one permission and not all of them. I dig privies with nothing in them at times, ash and rust included. They are not always crunchy on the probe. Have you dug the big sinkholes in the picture near the alley?There are pits with hardly any if any shards. I live in a town with very shallow on average privies 2-4 ft. deep and most of the time dipped clean but occasionally hit a deeper one or one loaded with trash. I have dug 20 ft. stoneliners with almost nothing but clean clay to the bottom and then 2 inches of use layer with a few shards. I dug a 3ft. deep privy once with 80 intact pontilled bottles in it. It was in a town with notoriously dipped clean shallow privies. Privy digging is not new in Kansas and has been done. Oklahoma,Nebraska,small Missouri towns all have had guys digging and finding bottles. Positive thinking is what it takes. If you expect to find pits resembling those on Rick's or Chris' site you will not but there will be exceptions. Even big houses here have very shallow pits in these rural German towns. Drive 25 miles from me and I am digging 8- 12 ft. stone and brickliners in several different cities. Nobody I talk to around here has ever heard of bottles in privies and alot of friends are in construction and excavation. I keep digging and keep finding. There are better places than others and I have dug in alot of cities and towns. And any property has a chance of producing sodas and alot of bottles. Thinking is a privy diggers worst enemy,trust me!

 

[appliedlips]

In looking at the history of your city is why quite large for a city that far west in the 1880's and hardly rural. I am quite sure it has good potential for digging. While it has grown alot it was larger at that time period than some cities I have dug with great success.

 

[appliedlips]

If you have an area 4 or 5 ft. square or less and more than two in any direction that probes softer than everthing around,digging and looking for boundaries. The wood will most likely be gone but you will see walls where it was disturbed. You will know if you hit bottom. You will likely find some seeds in the bottom corners at the very least. Then you will know you dug a privy.

 

[appliedlips]

ORIGINAL: appliedlips

In looking at the history of your city is why quite large for a city that far west in the 1880's and hardly rural. I am quite sure it has good potential for digging. While it has grown alot it was larger at that time period than some cities I have dug with great success.

EDIT: it was quite large, and hasnt grown alot

 

[downeastdigger]

Barber you are getting valuable advice here from some experienced privy diggers, trust me. Dougs first long post is loaded with facts that take diggers YEARS to learn, especially about the "not thinking too much", and how it is a numbers game. If you can devote substantial time to getting permissions, and probe several yards, you will finally hit a good one. And in my experience, it seems like the "perfect" privy disappoints, and the little house privy that you almost didnt feel like trying winds up being the jackpot.

I have essentially quit my job this past week, and am rolling the dice, and going to try my scuba diving, and privy digging to pay the bills, along with other free lance stuff and odd jobs. Sounds like a sketchy plan, but I've mapped out my financial prospects, and piecing together what I'm going to do for work has a better chance at making good money, than the job I had.

I dont know anything about digging in your part of the country, to be honest, but it does seem that when you find something good, it is really in demand. Out here, I can find an embossed pontiled medicine, and it can be worth $15 ( like a Mrs. Winslows Soothing Syrup) because the population was so high, and they made so many of them. Find a bottle from Kansas embossed, from the 1870s, and you've really got something.

Good luck, stay determined, and you'll do well.

 

[barberman]

I really appreciate all the advice! Yes I tend to think too much and detail everything to death. I've accumulated many folders of information, bought 2 different privy books, Sanborns, Probes and permissions. Think I'm set!

I'll stick with the 1870's house across the alley from the skating rink. Surely some kid with a pop bottle took a dump in the privy 15 feet behind the skating rink. Being located almost downtown, abandoned, friends permission its a winner.

If the home were occupied I'd feel kind or rushed to get things done. Regarding the 2 pop bottle plants in town, the 1882 is only on paper with no known examples, the 1912 one has provided a handful of examples, the last 1912 example sold on Ebay for $62 about 2 years ago. Bought by a local collector, that is what sparked my interest in privy digging.

On paper we had 28 pharmacies from 1876 - 1912 (Johnnie Fletcher book). It'd be nice to find those bottles.

Thanks all.

 

[barberman]

Spent an hour this morning at my 1870's Skating Rink house. It was so obvious where 1 privy was I didn't see it the 3 times I've been there. Probed with a 4 footer, then with my 6 footer.

First 2 foot was tight then all of a sudden down I go! Hit glass at 5 feet! It was a dull Tink Tink tap tap. Probably be few months before its dry enough. Thinking I should team up with a friend and dig a side hole, then dig into the pit at 4 foot. Need to spend some time finding the other pits on this property until its dry enough to dig.

Probe Probe Probe..... Its getting easier.

 

[twowheelfan]

no side holes. go straight down.

 

[Relicsnstuff]

Barberman, the last guy I showed how to find pits tryed to make a science out of it, i told him not to do this and just probe the areas that were likely for the pits to be, look at the houses around the house you are probing, look to see if the property lines are the same and line up, in my area once you find the first pit its like unlocking the puzzle and the others are easy to find, any of you guys have any info on the St. Louis med thats embossed Potter & Merwin?

 

[barberman]

no side holes. go straight down.

So if I dig straight down won't I be standing on what I'm digging? Seems kind of difficult unless I dig a super big hole for standing/digging room. This my first and I've got many many more spotted today. Permissions will be easy. Never in this town has a privy been dug.

Like metal detecting in 1972 with my Relco Pacesetter, I was the first in town. The Methodist church yard was full of coins, rings and a 1940's mickey mouse watch. What a treat it was to be the first. No Discrimination, dug everything. I love new adventures.