# Need Help Finding a Privy



## fnye217 (Jan 10, 2016)

Hello,

I am new to this site and apologize if this is the wrong area to post this. I just started digging over a year ago and have found some pretty cool stuff, but there is one problem I keep trying to solve. I have a site where I can dig that is a house dating back to the 1820s, but i cant find the privy. The property now is huge, I have located to dumps but they are really far from the house and in the woods and the one dates back to the late 1800s, and the other to the early 1900s. I was wondering what the best way is to go about finding the privy(s) are.


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## sunrunner (Jan 10, 2016)

well here is the thing, in many rural places people did not use there privy's for trash despoil .If they had a big piece of property then they had plenty of places to throw it. Look for ditches in the fence row , low spots in the woods , like swampy areas'. depressions on the woods line , sometimes framers dug holes out there and buried what little trash they had.


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## fnye217 (Jan 10, 2016)

Interesting. The property is family owned and has been for a while, when planting relatively close to the house a while ago they had found some broken glass and pottery. Also there is a garage on the property that was originally a place where the kept horses in the 1800s as well. There is also a creek that runs through the property, thats where i found one of the dumps, it was dumped over a bank into the creek. The property is just big and i have no idea where to look. There is also an old church set on a hill next to the property that has a bank on the side facing our property with and old dirt road. Just an enormous place cant figure out a set place to dig around.


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## foster2100 (Jan 10, 2016)

I know for myself I am a lot like you in some of the ways that you has described bit much exp digging and a huge area to look with no idea on how to find it and I've gotten some help with my questions. Some things you might want to consider though, like what types of tools you will need, if you have any help to dig it out ( it really is a lot of work and can be slow going ) and it can be dangerous yellow jackets love to hide in the dirt, snakes and all other kinds of stuff.


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## corrybottles (Jan 10, 2016)

If there is a privy it would not be to far from the house. People didn't want to walk to far the take a dump. Do you have a probe to find the privy?


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## fnye217 (Jan 10, 2016)

no i do not have a probe sadly.


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## nhpharm (Jan 11, 2016)

With no probe you will probably not find it.  As was noted before, the privies for most rural houses are clean as a whistle...and typically hard to find because there isn't a close-by ally or property line.


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## anj2006 (Jan 11, 2016)

Without a probe it is very hard to locate. Make it easy on yourself,  get a probe!! I  dug 6  rural on the farm shall i say privys, and the return was not worth my while. Not saying they are all like that, but mine were. I would put my efforts on the outermost areas. Keep looking, you will find ( the spot)!!!


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## foster2100 (Jan 11, 2016)

Will an old spring steel car radio antenna work for a probe?


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## anj2006 (Jan 11, 2016)

No, i dont think. Go to the nearest junk yard. Find yourself some round stock, about 5/8's by 5 foot, weld a half inch pipe about 18 inchs long on top, and a ball bearing on the other end, grind the ball bearing to a dull point! It works and has been working for me for alot of years.


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## GLASSHOPPER55 (Jan 17, 2016)

We used to make probes from those old big 70s and 80's Fords, Mercurys, Chryslers, etc. The 5/16" spring steel tortion rods inside the trunk (under the back window) that held the trunk lids up. Requires some fabricating, tho. Or you can buy bottle probes outright.


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## RICKJJ59W (Jan 17, 2016)

Here you go kid   this guy makes great probes I have one   -


http://privyprobe.com/dir/index.php?pr=Home_Page


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## RICKJJ59W (Jan 17, 2016)

I useally make my own  but this guy gave me one free for pushing a lot of business his way from my web site.  www.19thcenturybottlediggers.com


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## Bass Assassin (Jan 18, 2016)

Agree with Rick. I've bought 2 from him and they are great. His prices are very reasonable as well.


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## hemihampton (Jan 19, 2016)

I think I got my probe from there. found 1860 privy first time out with it if I remember right. LEON.


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## foster2100 (Jan 20, 2016)

How well will they penetrate through clay, do you have to have a lot of force behind it? I understand the basic premise of it all I'm just wondering how it works in clay, we've got red clay here about 2 feet down, and then other types of clay.


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## nhpharm (Jan 20, 2016)

We've got very hard clay down here in Texas...I ended up using a standard utility probe due to it's durability...I've had the same 6' probe now for 3.5 years and it is still going strong.  The replaceable tips are a godsend in my opinion.  You can get these utility probes from the following site:

http://www.mightyprobe.com/

If the clay is really hard you may need a hammer probe...you can get them from this site as well.  They are a beast to handle but we've found some privies using it that we wouldn't have otherwise.


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## Bass Assassin (Jan 20, 2016)

Foster, if there is a privy amongst all that clay, the probe will sink through the soil where it has been repacked. It would take many many years before Mother Nature could cover that privy with more clay to the point where you didn't know it was there. I deal with that same situation where I hunt. If you hit a privy, you'll be able to push the probe into it. 99% of the privies I find are because I sunk the probe nearly to the handle and hit something abrasive such as brick, glass, iron etc.


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## andy volkerts (Jan 20, 2016)

Just as a word of advice here, ALLWAYS use a probe that has been constructed by drilling a hole in one side of the pipe handle and inserting the spring steel into this hole, also use professionally made probes because when you are pushing down hard on a probe in clay you DEFINATELY do not want the probe to BREAK and stab you in the guts, thereby disembowling you and otherwise screw up a perfect day!!


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## anj2006 (Jan 22, 2016)

Yea, i would say thats some good advice !!


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