Outhouse

The Anderson House never had indoor plumbing, so they would have used an outhouse similar to this one. This version was a three-seater Ladies outhouse. This outhouse was located on the Ralph Charney farm just up the road from here on Fieldcrest and was donated in November 1997. It was believed to have been at least 100 years old at that time.

Outhouses were often designated by a symbol cut into the door to show if it was for men or women. It is said that in the days of illiteracy, a circle meant the outhouse was for men and the half-moon shape meant it was for ladies.  To combat the odor problem, farmers sometime planted lilac bushes nearby, or threw lime into the pit, or sometimes they simply moved the outhouse to a slightly different location. It’s also said that hollyhocks were sometimes planted nearby so that in polite company, rather than asking for the location of the outhouse, one could simply ask “where are your hollyhocks?”

Outhouse. Accessed July 31st, 2022. https://sisterbayhistory.org/museum/outhouse/.