I am dedicated to the ethical rescue and preservation of items thrown into the time capsules that were the outhouse pits of the 19th century. It seems that it was a very common practice to use the outhouse pit as one of the main garbage receptacles. I and my associates excavate these old outhouse pits to reclaim the glass bottles and other artifacts that were tossed in as garbage.

Contrary to most first impressions, there is no bad smell, no germs, and no bacteria. Mother Nature has turned all the biological contents back into pure earth compost. We do not dig up the privy pits which still have the outhouse building on top of them. We use metal probes which we push into the ground to look for tell tale signs like soft spots and the crunch of deep glass. Most homes built before 1880 have two to four already filled in old outhouse pits. It was common practice to dig a new hole near the outhouse when the pit became full, and then move the outhouse building over top of the new hole. These filled pits are what we seek.

Once we find a pit, we lay down a plastic tarp and carefully cut the sod into a 4 by 4 area. Then we cut that into 1 by 1 foot squares, and move them to the tarp where they are re-assembled. We then place another large plastic tarp on the ground at the edge of the hole to put the dirt on. As we dig the dirt pile becomes larger. Pits run from 4 to 10 feet deep and take just one day to dig and re-fill. After we have reached the bottom and retrieved all the artifacts, we refill the pit, carefully packing it every two feet or so. We then replace the sod and water it in. You can hardly tell we were even there.

I record the information from each dig and personally maintain this information for possibility of future study and publication. We never trespass and always obtain permission to excavate. We do not dig any site, which might at some time be considered worthy of a full-scale archaeological interest. We dig the average citizens privy. While the popular culture of the time frame we dig in has been well recorded and is available for study, we find that by displaying the bottles and artifacts within the region in which they were found, we are able to bring history alive for so many of our neighbors.

My own personal bottle and artifact display is at the Crosby Township, Hamilton County Ohio Civic Center. There are many people who have never seen bottles this old and most find it very interesting. My display contains many place cards and other written information that describe the specifics of each bottle, its age, method of manufacture, company history, contents history, and use of.

If you have a pre-1900 house and you would like to see what's in your old filled in privy pit(s), and if you are within 30 miles of Cincinnati, we would be happy to see if we could locate the pits, and in turn will restore the area and split the finds with you.

E-mail Eddie.