Fort Vancouver Historic Structures Report

LATRINES

History and location

Official Company correspondence, accounts by visitors, and reminiscences of employees generally maintain a polite silence concerning one of the most conspicuous elements of Fort Vancouver's physical structure--the facilities for the disposal of human waste. Only rarely, as when the querulous and fastidious Chaplain Beaver gave vent to his sense of outrage, was mention made of one of the less pleasant aspects of life at the Columbia depot. On March 19, 1838, the Reverend Mr. Beaver complained to the Deputy-Governor of the Company: "Above a dozen p_____s [are] in open view, and very close to, our windows." [9]

Most ground plans of the post simply ignore the existence of such conveniences, but at least three (Plates III, XIII, and XXIV, vol. I) depict a sufficient number to demonstrate that Chaplain Beaver did not exaggerate. Archeological excavations in recent decades have uncovered evidence of numerous outhouses.

Beaver's protest proves that the term "privies" was at least one name for these facilities used in common parlance about the fort. In written records such as post journals, however, the old term "necessaries" appears to have been more frequently employed throughout the district. [10]

During the existence of Fort Vancouver, the usual, but not universal, location for the outhouses was directly against the inside faces of the stockade walls. Archeological evidence indicates that as these walls were moved from time to time, the associated privies were shifted also. [11]

During the 1947-52 series of excavations, about eighteen trash pits (excluding two wells and one or two other "depressions") were uncovered. While Mr. Caywood found that some of these pits had been used almost exclusively as outdoor toilets, he noted that "in the main" they had served also as places for the disposal of garbage, trash, and the "dregs from chamer [sic] pots." A few seemed to be entirely for trash. Mr. Caywood found that, on the whole, the "combination" toilet and trash pits and the pits exclusively for trash were marked by plank covers " showing that the intended use was for the disposal of garbage and trash." The privy pits, on the other hand, sometimes showed evidence of flooring, indicating that they had underlain small structures. [12]

During the more than two decades since 1952 several additional archeological projects have been conducted at Fort Vancouver, and one, the most comprehensive of all, is still in progress as this report is being written. Until all of the results are in, it would be futile to attempt to give the total number and the locations of the privy and trash pits within the stockade or to try to determine which outhouses might have been standing during Outfit 1845.

Construction details

As might be expected, archeological excavations have produced quite a bit of information about the pit portions of the necessaries. Mr. Caywood found that the trash pits and the "combination" pits had been originally dug with rounded corners. At least one, directly north of the Bakery, was described as "board-lined." This last hole was three feet wide, seven feet ten inches long, and six feet seven inches deep. Another toilet excavation near the north stockade behind the Jail was two feet five inches wide, nine feet long, and two feet eight inches deep. Building "footings" at this last pit indicated that the surmounting outhouse measured seven by ten feet. [13]

During 1970 and 1971 the pit directly north of the Bakery was reexcavated and a second one about eight feet still farther north was dug for the first time. Because these privies were set against the outer most position of the eastern palisade wall there can be little doubt that they were constructed between about 1841 and 1844, or possibly a bit later, and therefore must have been a part of the fort scene during Outfit 1.845, the period to which the post is to be reconstructed.

The more southerly of the two pits north of the Bakery had been considerably disturbed subsequent to its examination by Mr. Caywood. The bottom of the pit was found to be 2.5 feet wide and from 5.5 to 6.5 feet long, while the depth was only 4.05 feet. It will be recognized that these measurements were smaller than those reported by Mr. Caywood. Only remnants of the wooden lining, in the form of "erect wooden slabs, each about 0.3 by 0.5 feet," were found at the base of the pit's north wall.

The northerly pit had also been much disturbed, so the width of 3.0 feet and the length of 7.3 feet were considered to be only approximate. On the other hand, the depth of 4.95 feet was believed to represent the original dimension. No evidence of a wooden lining was found. No remains of foundations or superstructures were discovered at either pit. [14]

Except for what can be deduced from the dimensions of the pits and of the few bits of foundations found--pits about seven feet long obviously were for "two-holers"--archeological excavations un fortunately can tell little about the design of the superstructures. As far as can be determined from the few available pictures bearing upon the subject, privies at Hudson's Bay Company posts were of two principal types--gable-roofed and shed-roofed. [15] Had it not been for the detachment of Royal Engineers that visited Fort Vancouver during the spring of 1860, the type employed at the Columbia depot might be unknown today. Thanks to the picture of the Big House taken by these pioneer Pacific Northwest photographers, it is possible to state positively that the two privies north of the Bakery, at least, had shed roofs.

In fact, the photograph tells a good deal more about the out houses than the slant of the roofs. Unfortunately when the picture was reproduced as Plate XXIX in volume I of this report, evidently the right side was trimmed off to such an extent that only a small portion of the northern privy can be discerned. In the full original print the north end of the southern privy and most of the northern one can be seen through the gap between the Big House and the Bachelors' Quarters. Both backed against the east stockade wall. In Figure 7 in their impressive report Fort Vancouver Excavations--I, Messrs. J. J. Hoffman and Lester A. Ross have presented an enlarged portion of the photograph to bring out the construction details of the two privies, and reconstruction architects are referred to that figure or to the original print submitted with volume I of this report.

As the picture is interpreted by Messrs. Hoffman and Ross, each latrine was a 'two-holer," about six feet high, eight feet long, and six feet wide. The front or west ends were still higher, so that the roofs slanted rather sharply toward the stockade. The two archeologists believe the north and south walls were made of vertical "puncheons, " while the west wall was of "horizontally laid poles about half the diameters of the puncheons " and apparently set into the corner puncheons. They thought it possible that there was no rear wall other than the palisade.

Each privy had two doors in front. Messrs. Hoffman and Ross estimate that these doors were about five feet high. What appears to be a square vent or air hole is centered above each door. The archeologists find that "between the door tops and the airhole bottoms are . . . short board rain deflectors angled slightly downwards." Messrs. Hoffman and Ross speculate that the outhouses, as "two holers," may have had internal compartments. [16]

With these very sound conclusions this writer cannot take issue. However, from an examination of an extremely sharp print of the 1860 photograph he is willing to venture several suggested refinements:

a. The north and south sides of the privies appear to be made of wide, vertical, partly rounded slabs representing the portions of logs discarded at the Company's sawmill during the lumber-sawing process. Such slabs were much used for construction of employees' homes in the nearby village. (It must also be confessed, however, that if one looks at the picture long enough one can almost see board and batten siding!) There was no trim board under the roof on the sides.

b. To the eye of this writer, the front walls of the privies definitely appear to be covered with horizontal, lapped weatherboards.

c. In the very clear print, the angled rain deflectors noted by Messrs. Hoffman and Ross do not appear distinctly. Rather, it would seem that rain drip from the ventilating holes stained the weather board beneath them, making the board on each side of the stain appear lighter and, hence, slanted outward. In the opinion of the writer there were no drip boards over the doors.

d. The shed roof projected a few inches (perhaps five or six inches) in front and on the sides to provide protection from drip.

e. This writer would estimate the doors the privies to have been about six feet high. four weatherboards, or perhaps twenty inches, as well as the rear of The front walls were higher.

f. The ventilating holes on the northern privy appear not to have been exactly the same size. The one to the north seems to have been wider than that to the south. They were about a weatherboard and-a-half high and apparently about the same distance wide.

Furnishings

Probably the National Park Service would not wish to conduct research into such an indelicate subject, and almost certainly it would not desire to present the matter in any interpretive media, yet the findings of archeologists raise a most interesting question concerning a topic that is a mystery to most present-day members of Western civilization.

When excavating the privy pit directly north of the Bakery, Mr. Caywood found with the human waste " many smooth oval stones measuring about three inches in length by one inch in width and a half inch in thickness." [17] Mr. Hoffman speculated upon the possible use of these stones and came up with an interesting "working hypothesis." [18] If his theory should prove to be correct, a pile of these stones in a reconstructed outhouse might start some visitors to pondering upon the benefits of living in an age in which paper is plentiful and cheap.

Recommendations

a. It is suggested that the final report upon the present series of archeological excavations contain a list giving descriptions and locations of all privy pits discovered since 1947. If possible, those which probably were standing in 1845-46 should be identified.

b. It is recommended that a reasonable number, about ten or twelve, of the 1845-46 outhouses be reconstructed as a part of the actual historic scene. The 1860 photograph would be the best guide as to the design and type of construction. [19]

c. It is suggested that one or two of the reconstructed necessaries be left open for exhibit purposes. If this were done, it probably would be best to lock the doors open during visiting hours.

d. It might be instructive, somewhere in the interpretive program, to point out the close proximity of the wells to the outhouses and to relate how the water in the wells rose and fell with the river, the water coming at times to within a few feet of the ground surface. The possible relationship of this situation to the frequent epidemics that laid low much of the fort's population might then be mentioned as a subject for thought.