Just cant seem to find the privy..

[Oradden]

Just can't seem to find the privy..

So, a friend of mine and I have several potential homesites to find a privy, we've worked all the areas and have checked for every sign of a possible privy. Such as:

Depressions
Dark soil/Ash
Orientation of the foundation
Orientation of the well
Vegetation

and so on.. We have a 5' probe and homesites that we know must have had a privy, So what's the deal? We have probed most if not all of the possible areas hundreds of times. Could we just not be looking in the correct areas? Will post pictures of the areas for advice if any can be given that would be greatly appreciated

Additional info:
Homesite #1: 19th century house in current day farm but set in the woods. Found two depressions but only filled with clay. Look very likely to where the privy would be. (1840-1870)

Homesite #2: 1830s foundation, very dense woods with the most odd foundation, Pictures are needed to explain.

Homesite #3: Possible 19th century farm, probed the yard in a grid as not to miss anything, possible there is no privy because the home is too recent?

If anyone could give us any help on finding a privy in any of these locations or have any tips and tricks we'd love them! Pictures coming soon. Also this would have been our first privy.

 

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[Oradden]

These are pictures of some broken glass we found at one of the homesites, It seemed as if though the Bottles were in maybe a chimney? We found a large pile of rocks and bricks and it contained the bottle peices, stoneware, pottery. What could that area be? More pictures to come!

 

[Bass]

You may have to probe those"likely spots" many times before you feel anything. You should take your shovel and dig a little to see if the ground has been disturbed any. There would also be some evidence such as broken glass, rocks, brick, etc that would have been used to help fill in the hole. As for the pile of debris you are talking about, there could be several possibilities. Could be a fallen down chimney, or foundations for the house someone piled up, and they may have been covering up a well or a privy in the process. You won't really know until you investigate it further

 

[surf]

We found a large pile of rocks and bricks and it contained the bottle peices, stoneware, pottery. What could that area be?

Hello Oradden,

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for telling us of your search, and the photos. The square base with the open pontil would have me carefully digging the area it was found. Sounds like it may be the dump. A rock dump will produce a lot of criers, but if you're careful & persistent you may find something intact. The age is there.

You've used the "farm" word a couple of times. I've never dug a farm, but have talked & listened to people that have. The consensus is that the privies are often shallow, and unproductive when found. The finding of them is the hard part. With so much open space, the "rules" of urban privy location were not followed. The open spaces lent themselves to dumping of discarded items, rather than throwing them down the privy.

If they are indeed old farm sites, I'd gladly try and hunt for the dumps, rather than knocking myself out probing, or confine my grid to the down wind areas.

Here's a farmhouse privy dig story that illustrates my point: Three Men and a Privy; Farmhouse Privy Dig # 1 | 1780 Farmhouse.com

Good luck with the hunt & keep those photos & finds coming...

 

[Oradden]

Thanks for the info, now i've found the well actually to this place and from the evidence it was a large house.
I actually feel like the house has been burned down? because there is white ash in what seems to be the fallen and piled chimney of the house and thats where we've found most of the bottle pieces that we have.

What really does not make any sense at all is that the well is extremely close to the foundation. (5-8ft) Could the privy be the same situation? Where the front of this house would have been is a road, and the back there is about a 12ft spacing to another bordering stone wall. None of it adds up it's very confusing...

 

[Oradden]

Thank you! See I knew that deep down. Just didn't want to believe it. Because I need to switch my tactics for farm land. More dumps rather than privies. But if I do want to find the privy I need a different guide line than the more common urban privy rules let's say. More photos and updates to come!

 

[Bass]

Yes, i have seen wells right next to the house. In fact, i've seen the well placed in a back porch, under a roof. The broken pcs you are finding in the rubble could have come from bottles being thrown under the house. In the country, that happened quite often. There could be a dump on the other side of the wall you are talking about, further away from the house.

 

[surf]

The Killer of Bass makes good points. I'd look to the stone walls, as well. If there is evidence that there was a barn, I'd look there, too, as I've heard stories of a privy inside the barn, as well as bottles found under the barn floor.

Good luck.

THE PRIVY IN THE BARN ​

 

[Oradden]

Now that's true because it almost looks like the barn is attached if not very close the foundation of the house and it really looks like the privy could be in there, but large stones have rolled over in the floor of the area that I'm talking about. So maybe do a few more pushups and throw those out of the way? But all in all I'll get some pictures, maybe a video of the area? The area is EXTREMELY over grown though so it's rough getting through.

 

[PikesPeakCharlie]

Here in the mining camps of Colorado ,we have found the privy right next to the house, in the middle of the lot,and at the back of the lot, at old homesteads up here ,they are harder to find,and seem to be anywhere ,,,,,hope ya find it !!

 

[Oradden]

Hows the soil in Colorado? Is it rocky and hard like here in Massachusetts? Just wondering if you could give me any advice on the feeling of the soil here and or if there may be rocks over the privy? Any soil tips would be great.

 

[PikesPeakCharlie]

Orad , In eastern Colorado the privys seem to be very sandy,not many rocks,but have dug down there very little. In the hills around me,if you sink the probe,you dig,our bedrock is very shallow,so 90% of the time if the probe sinks its a man made hole , some pits have very few rocks others are full, some have boulders the size of a small generator ,but are generally quite soft ,in 30+ years diggin around here I have never found one with a cap rock ,have found some capped with a foot thick layer of lime about a foot down ,,,, buuut over in leadville there is alot of river rock in the holes and the soil is packed real hard and is a completely different dig. can't help ya with your soil,never been there Keep your probe and shovel dirty !

 

[Oradden]

So we went out to the same spot in the dense woods today and noticed something.
The entire area, meaning the whole foundation and every area enclosed in stone wall has many small remains of broken glass, pottery, stone ware, bones, leather, boot heels, and square head nails. Now this area is far too big to have been a dump.

My thoughts on this location are that, the house or structure had been burned down (from the ash on the stones and bricks) and pushed over and or collapsed upon itself. I can't see any other reason to there being sooo many pieces of everything that I just listed. Also we're finding bottle tops, bottoms, and sometimes embossed pieces of the bases of these bottles that are all from 1830s-50s.

So we're in a jam, there are pieces of the glass we want in a 75'x15-20' area but you cant dig very deep at all where the pieces lay. But there is one area of small stones that we have been digging that has had tons of pieces but everything is completely broken. We are still hoping to find just one bottle but it's very unlikely. Any advice?

 

[surf]

My thoughts on this location are that, the house or structure had been burned down (from the ash on the stones and bricks) and pushed over and or collapsed upon itself. I can't see any other reason to there being sooo many pieces of everything that I just listed. Also we're finding bottle tops, bottoms, and sometimes embossed pieces of the bases of these bottles that are all from 1830s-50s.

Hey Oradden,

Are you encountering melted bottle parts? None of the shards you showed appeared melty to me. If the place burned long ago, you should find an obvious layer of ash between 6-8 inches deep, perhaps a foot or so below grade.

I'd encourage you to show any embossed pieces that you're trying to identify. It sure sounds like you're in the right vicinity. Take your panoramic camera with you next time, and we can speculate like crazy...

South Wellfleet, Mass.​

 

[Red James Cash]

Homesite #1: 19th century house in current day farm but set in the woods. Found two depressions but only filled with clay. Look very likely to where the privy would be. (1840-1870)

Human waste turns to clay after years of being buried,you might have already found it.

 

[Oradden]

Alright so i've got some pictures of the newest pieces we've found.

 

[Oradden]

So first off, thank you surf for the picture of the house it just gave me a new perspective on how the house could have looked like.
Second we did notice that there was not any melted glass, and no huge layer of ash. Which could take away my suspicions and put away my pyromantic side.
Third, I definitely think I should take a video instead of pictures of the land...not enough room to stand back for a picture..
Also should I be posting the pictures differently to make them bigger. Say, one at a time?

 

[surf]

Hey Oradden,

I can see why you're intriqued with this spot. The age is definitely there. I'd be digging the shard rich areas, and probing like mad. Any down hill, low spot areas not too far from the house site?

Dr. S.O. Richardson?s Jaundice Bitters ? South Reading | Peachridge Glass

 

[Oradden]

The area we've been finding all of our glass in is a large 6ft by 4ft circular pile on a slope of head sized rocks. The slope is next to the foundation and about 30ft away from the well of the home. Doesn't really add up to me though. But in the entire area of the foundation, there is a peice of glass or pottery every couple feet.

 

[surf]

The area we've been finding all of our glass in is a large 6ft by 4ft circular pile on a slope of head sized rocks.

Oradden,

This long distance digging is a hard business. I'd move the rocks and dig this area, and below it. Don't throw your tailings, where you might have to dig through them again. When I find a slope with shardage, I often start at the bottom & dig & scratch uphill.

I wanna see some intact glass, and if you're persistent, I think I'm gonna see some soon.

Good luck.