Some Say their life is in the toilet

I for one envy them...

When it comes to actually touching history, you’d be surprised at some of the places those “in the know” are willing to go. Collectors and historians will often go to what many would consider extreme lengths to discover relics of the past. For many collectors, archaeologists and history buffs, the privy is often the favourite place to discover. The privy, again for those in the know, is the outhouse. Every house and farm back in the day had one. The outhouse was not only for “taking care of business” but also an awfully convenient place to throw out some of the trash. And if you’re looking to touch history, to really taste it, then you’ve got to get yourself down into the toilet. For the enthusiast it’s simply called “privy digging”.  

When a privy would be close to being full there was a decision to be made. Some would do a practice known as “dipping” where they would undertake this pretty miserable task themselves or hire someone to clean out or “dip the pit”. In light of the messy circumstance, many would just dig another hole, often within six feet or so of the original. They would then use the original privy solely as a garbage pit until it was up to the rim so to speak and cap it off, preferably with clay. Obviously when more convenient and modern washrooms came into fashion and affordability, privies were used less and less. They were filled in, covered and forgotten.

It is a fun way to unearth treasures and little bits of history that have been lost or frozen in time for so long. Each artifact has its own story to tell, and many of these pieces can be incredibly valuable. Artifacts such as marbles, bottles, and crockery can be worth hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars.

So what lays in store for the modern-day privy digger? A wealth of knowledge, artifacts and most certainly incredible time capsules for collectors of everything from bottles, china, crockery, bones and if you happen to step down deep enough into an old saloon privy even guns! Now this is usually the part where everyone admits the artifacts waiting to be discovered are interesting and often fascinating… but the grimace and hollow whispers of “poo” usually dampen the enthusiasm. Rest assured, the organic material in the “privy vault of fortune” has long since naturally broke down; all of the inorganic material however has not. More importantly, when the organic material was in it’s “fresh state” it served to not only protect all the incredible tidbits and relics of the past but actually cradle them in warm comforting soft arms against the harsh natural elements. This means that bottles, marbles, porcelain, some clay and other metals, having worked their way down to the bottom of these “fresh” pits, are still lying at the bottom waiting to be discovered. Just think of how many 6 x 6 x 10 foot deep time capsules as many as 200 years of history lay in wait. Remember that as you drive by modern surveys and Cityscapes, many were built upon original settlements, stores and saloons. Everyone had to have a toilet, where would modern civilization be without a toilet. Now those historic toilets have in some cases become bank vaults and the keys are little more than enthusiasm and a shovel.

Digging for these pieces has become something of a hobby for a lot of urban archaeologists. It is a fun way to unearth treasures and little bits of history that have been lost or frozen in time for so long. Each artifact has its own story to tell, and many of these pieces can be incredibly valuable. Artifacts such as marbles, bottles, and crockery can be worth hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars.

The most important tool for locating a privy is the privy rod, a metal rod about four to six feet long, often made of spring steel, flexible and strong.

First things first, most privies were on private property, and therefore most privies still are on private property. Permission is definitely needed prior to digging. Once you’ve scoped out an area and discussed the opportunity with the landowner, you have to know where to dig. The basics of location a privy are very simple. It seems our forefathers were a little more hardy shall we say and a lot less timid when it came to hygiene. Quite often refuse was simply tossed out a back window or through the back door only steps from the house. This was also true for the outhouse although a few obvious considerations were also deciding factors in the privy location and these often included 10ft snow banks in winter and bears in summer. So imagine the back door of the original structure, if you’re lucky, the original house or hotel is still standing. Throw a stone from the backdoor, not hard, just a comfortable toss. That’s where you start. Privies were generally 6ft x 6ft. When new privies were dug they were generally done in a grid pattern 6 ft from the original. Quite often a single property can have many privies.

The most important tool for locating a privy is the privy rod, a metal rod about four to six feet long, often made of spring steel, flexible and strong. You can have one welded up or pull something together yourself. You need little more than a tapered steel rod thicker at the tip and thinner at the top to reduce friction as you press it into the ground. Fix a T-bar handle to it and start pushing it into the ground as you walk a grid pattern. You’re looking for soil which is noticeably softer. If the rod pierces the soil and goes down a few feet, then you’re onto something. A privy is by nature more organic and obviously disturbed earth and fill. Natural earth has been compacted and untouched since the ice age. Simple as that, actually for the lucky ones, you can actually still see very subtle depressions or sunken spots today.

Another way to search out where a privy was located is to take a look at maps. Going through old land records and maps of the areas will help to show where privies were located. Additionally, fire insurance maps are a terrific source for the location of privies. Fire insurance maps were drawn up for many cities, towns and counties to determine insurance liabilities in case there was a fire to a home or larger area. These maps detail every structure and it’s location right down to and including the privy. A quick internet search of “fire insurance maps” will bring up a slew of different websites that have copies of maps available to view online. Aside from the internet, some universities, colleges, museums and libraries may also be in possession of many early historical maps.

Now comes the actual digging. After you stake out what looks to be a privy spot. Dig yourself a test hole. Dig up a small portion of the spot and look at the dirt to see if there are any foreign materials in the dirt that does not belong to that type of soil. By foreign materials, we are talking: ash, clay, glass, nails, bone, etc. Dig a little further down if nothing turns up on the first try. If you determine that it is in fact a privy, start digging, the good stuff is going to be at the bottom, this could be 4ft up to 12 ft or more. You may need a bucket system for drawing up the dirt. NEVER dig alone and never do what is called “banking” where you start undermining the bottom of a hole. Consider shoring up your holes if they get too deep and narrow, and most importantly NEVER take unnecessary or just plain stupid risks, as tempting as treasure hunting may be you never want to get hurt, hurt someone else or put an early end to a promising future filled with adventure and discovery.

Privy digging is a fun way to go treasure hunting. It is also a good way to get a work out. Not all privies still contain treasures; some privies may have been dipped, some may have been used for nothing more than their original intent. That is not what matters, though. What matters is the adventure. When you do discover something like a bottle, an old clay pipe, a wild west pistol, you can know with certainty that you are the first person to see and hold this “treasure” since it’s original owner dropped it down that deep dark somewhat smelly hole in a time very much different than our modern day landscape. It can be a dirty job, but a lot of people dig it.