reexamining a mid-19th century chicago wood-lined privy "vault" and cesspool through material analysis

i just finished shooting several recovered artifacts that were used in the construction of a privy vault and cesspool likely constructed between 1855-1865 for chicago carpenter and millwork company owner john kent russell's house (non-extant).

 the first of the two unusually-shaped privy vaults was discovered in the northwest corner of the lot earlier this fall, and was likely built in conjunction with russell's two-story frame dwelling, completed in 1855-56. the well-built five foot diameter wood-lined privy vault was constructed with white pine wood, with a tongue and groove circular shaped floor measuring two inches thick. the slightly contoured (along the edges) floor was integrated with multiple notched wood staves that were held in place by at least one riveted wrought iron hoop, used to reinforce the staves. the overlapping riveted flat iron bands were attached to the staves with the use of tar. both the tongue-and-groove floor boards and upright staves were cut with an "up/down" saw (as evidenced by the distinct saw markings) that likely were fabricated in russell's mill. the "dimensional" lumber was largely consistent throughout, with not a single cut or square nail used in the construction of the "barrel" type privy.

several artifacts were recovered and thoroughly documented from the privy vault shortly after its discovery, but i will avoid going into any detail on those findings in this post. earlier posts provide images and additional information pertaining to the initial discovery and recovery of artifacts from this privy vault.

the similarly constructed gargantuan cesspool was discovered while the lot was excavated in preparation for new development. the same structural components used to build the smaller privy vault were also utilized for the "closed system" cesspool. unlike the smaller privy vault, the cesspool was nearly ten feet in diameter and was "capped" off with a combination of limestone and brick, mounted atop the larger pine wood staves that were also notched and held together with at least one interlocking wrought iron hoop. since this more shallow opening was designed to be a cesspool to collect waste from newly added plumbing inside the house, i wasn't surprised that any remnants of trash other then mud and fecal matter - the latter resting at the bottom of the wood floor - were completely non-existent. the cesspool was constructed towards the middle of the lot, where the addition was later built and plumbing was then added.

i feel very fortunate that i not only discovered the vault and its contents, but also the much larger cesspool. the opportunity to extract any and all materials from both the vault and cesspool, which involved the efforts of the excavator, who so generously donated his precious time to assist, or rather scoop out the deeply buried and heavily weighted materials, was a very big ordeal that i'm so very thankful for. it was by no means ideal in terms of carefully and methodically removing these one of kind, circular shaped wood-lined waste pits, but the materials recovered and later documented have proven to be very useful in terms of understanding the materials and methods employed to construct these very early and highly unique waste management "systems" designed for a residential setting.

the photo gallery below represents the privy vault and cesspool building materials recovered from the john kent russell house site. i have taken several images of the staves, joinery, wrought iron hoops, the oversized cesspool section or "system" that remains amazingly intact (i.e., the interconnected staves, floor and hoop), and finally, the largely intact two inch circular-shaped privy vault wood floor. to make the ensemble more visually striking, i added several original (and cataloged) artifacts, despite being displayed in a haphazard fashion, which was deliberate to offer a more accurate portrayal of how the artifacts were found, sans dirt and dung. this way, i hope to give the reader a better sense of how the artifacts were found resting on the privy pit's floor

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