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Outhouse Hunters?

Westernlegend1

Moved On
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
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5,019
Are there any folks who hunt outhouses on the forum here? Was wondering and if so, how goes the finds? This is the thread to share your outhouse experiences!
Which outhouse do you think has the most potential?
 

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I have a couple of outhouses in my files. Never detected them though.

The 1st belongs to the Historical Society in Shelton CT.

The 2nd we found last summer on our trip to North Dakota. It was out in the middle of nowhere. Stuck my head inside and it was a two-seater, but pretty trashed.

The 3rd is my favorite cartoon. :lol:
 

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i hunt them when i find them.

in this country they used to be a favorite drop down for weapons used to commit crimes.

also found in them are medicine bottles, eye glasses, pocket watches, coins of all kinds..., ..., ...

in isreal what are believed to be the temple treasures from the first temple(solomons') were found in a privy dug in a cave where jews hid from romans trying to kill them. also found in the privy was manuscript pressed into cooper sheets that were rolled up along with what are believed to be alter implements from the temple itself.

i personally have doug one and lived with it but nothing went in mine that did not come out of my backside except toilet paper and stuff to keep it sanitary.

it is the most satisfying thing i have ever done. i wish i still had one.

one day i shall build another.

"the TOILET PAPERS" by Sim Van der Ryn is the definative book on how to build and run one.:roll:
 
This could be a stinky thread for sure . I lived in the country about four years ago and had a outhouse but everything that went in and didn't come back out the front came out the back door and the Chickens got it . so wasn't nothing left to get , it had a lanoilum floor in it too so nothing went thru the floor . Harold
 
Outhouses can be fun. More of an archaeological experience however. Lots of glass in the pit. You should be careful when digging. There will be coins down there but your better off using a screen to sift rather than a MD.

Pew,


Good Luck.
 
Without a doubt, the one that has been out of service and dried out is the one to star with.:lol: There have been some real treasures found by outhouse hunting. For those not familiar with such things, during the Civil War people would wrap their valuables and lower them in the outhouse so they wouldn't be found during searches. Such things as Silver, guns and money have been found digging in old outhouse locations. That and "Post Hole Banks" have given up much treasure for those lucky enough to hunt the right ones.:yes:
 
We had a two-holer when I was a kid. I remember my brother found a big snake when he heard Ma screaming. He ran over and killed the snake and one could see it just ate something. My brother cut the snake open but the big frog it had was already dead.
 
I asked my mom if they had an outhouse at grandmas when she was little, and she said yes, but their toilet in the outhouse "flushed." She said they were the first house on the block with a flush toilet.
 
The decommissioned ones are great places for bottle hunters with their long steel probes. You gotta dig pretty deep to get to the bottom layers where the bottles and coins are.

Be careful and reinforce the hole walls. You don't want the hole caving in when you are down 8 to 10 feet.:shock:
 
When they release the census results after a new one, it lists how many houses don't have bathrooms or indoor plumbling, and I haven't read it now for several years, but there are thousands of houses in this country that still have outhouses in use.
 
rudy is right,

you can reinforce those shafts with pipe segments or steel drums with both ends removed.

personally i would excavate the shaft to the size of a steel drum and go that way. however you should consult with your local mining engineer as well.

use this advise at your own risk.:cool:
 
it lists how many houses don't have bathrooms or indoor plumbling, and I haven't read it now for several years, but there are thousands of houses in this country that still have outhouses in use.

I didn't know that.
 
you richy richies don't know how much you are throwing away till you save your pooh and realize how all the fools pay for their food and then pay someone again to take it away when they are done.

not to mention that americas sanitary sewer system is one of the biggest threats to public health out there and a big waste of energy to pump it around.

more and more we will see that our own sewage gets pumped back into our drinking water after treatment. there is a big stink in l.a. about that now.

they ARE going to recycle their sewage back into drinking water. they used to pump it into the ocean after treatment but no more.

here in vegas after treatment it gets pumped into the las vegas wash that drains into lake mead which is where it starts as the source of our drinking water.

snwa (souther nevada water authroity) just did it on their own years ago.

"waste not want not" -poor richard-
 
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recycling started with the Sears Roebuck catalog, I think they even have one of the first ones in the outhouse hall of fame.
 
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