Where to look for bottles...?

[robert roy]

Question:

Does anyone know how close to old houses people used to dump their trash. ALso how close were the
out houses? I know of an old house (cicil war period) I would like to check out but not too sure
where to start useing my metal probe. I'm really new to this.

Robert R

 

[jimmyjiver]

Hi, I Think If I Could Answer This Question Correctly I Would Be Rich..These Answers I'm Going To Give You Are My Own Opinion And Past Experiences. How Close Did They Dump? It All Depended On The People Living There From Out The Window To Half A Mile Most Seem To Be 500 Feet Or Less ..How Close For Out Houses 200 Feet Or Less Usually.. Plus They Usually They Put Them On The Back Side Of Houses But Not Always..Both Trash And Out Houses Were Usually Never Located By The Well In Fear Of Contamination.... Thanks

 

[Mr Seitz]

Hi Robert...
In privy digging the first rule is (there are no rules) people did what ever they felt like doing,just as today, so the outhouses could be any where from the back of the house, up against the house,the middle of the yard,the back lot line,or on the property line some where.
Then it depends on what type of area and houses they are,for instance if its a single house the privy might be right out the back door,if they are row homes (witch are the easiest to find) they should be on the property line half way in the Yard,and the house next door should have the privy in pretty much the same spot,and so on down the row. If you look over the fences in a row of 1850s row homes you can see the depressions some times,more times then not.
Always look for the sunk spots and slide that probe in. Hoped this helped.Rick

Check out my link flickerpix on my profile it shows some yards we dug.