Where to dig??

[mal]

Hi all you revered experts! I hope you can help me...I'm trying to guess the best place that the early household dump, or privy, would have been at my farm. Here's a pic from the air, fuzzy I'm afraid. I've labeled where the existing features are. The place where I marked Dump is where I've dug out many horse shoes and post 1900 bottles. (I posted some pix in the post-1900 section) It's right at the corner behind the old milkhouse, in the chicken coop enclosure. That barn is definitely a later build according to the nails, although it looks to have been built from some older material. Other than that, there are no other buildings. The land that is mine ends down at the bottom row of trees. It's pretty flat, low land---no creek banks or anything. Any ideas? I'd be grateful for your experienced advice. Thanks, Mal

 

[botlguy]

I say: go to the back door of the house. look around for a place where it's not too far at night but far enough to not smell the stink and start looking there. Remember, those trees close to the house may not have been there in 1850 - 1870 - 1880. If it's in snow country it will be a little closer. You should find more than one privy.

The dump could be anywhere or they could have hauled the trash off in a wagon. Rural folks on flat land or with livestock did that.

 

[mal]

Thanks for the advice! I was thinking that with the dug well where it is, they may not have put the privy too close for fear of contamination. We definitely get cold winters here, and I can't imagine having to trek through the snow to relieve myself in the dark! Hardy, those early folks were. Re privies-- I see images of these wonderful stone or brick lined chambers; is that the norm, or are the typical rural privy holes more primitive? The wells here (one by the house and one behind the barn) are stone lined. ---Mal

 

[RICKJJ59W]

Whats up Mary

Your last name isn't really Hotte is it? []

From what I see on your map there I would have to say dig more around the dumping grounds. Here is a question for you. ----

If you lived in that house back in the 1800s would you throw trash and junk in your privy when you have all that land to dump on? Why fill the privy when it has to be cleaned out on a regular basics?

There is a privy there, but in my opinion there is an old dump around that land somewhere that is probably worth looking for .That would be your best bet.

You are right about the privy not being to close to the well. Seems they have plenty of room to dig the privy far enough away to prevent contamination. Just like they have plenty of room for a dump so they dont load their privy up with stuff other then doo doo []

The privy is probably between the barn and the house where those trees are. Just an educated guess.

 

[mal]

---sigh---Hotte...Yep. ''Hot''. Married into that name. I had a decent and respectable Dutch surname before that, lol. Thanks for responding. I do intend to keep digging my current dump site, although my son and his girlfriend are so keen on digging with me that I have to wait until they can come up to spend some time. (Hurry UP Dammit!!!) We dug out the well last fall, drained it and pulled up many buckets of sludge. We still hope to sift through it to see what might have been dropped down there. Got a metal detector and parts at auction as well, but I'm waiting to sort it out until I have time later in the season. It's an older Garrett with a whole bunch of different coils, and not much by way of manuals. Anyway, if I find anything older, I'll post the pix. Thanks, Mal