THE 1880 IMMACULATE HEART OUTHOUSE 
(what can you learn from an outhouse)

Click to see Materials Recovered
Click to see Teaching Items
Click to see Eating Items
Click to see Personal Living Items
Click to see Medical Items
Click to see Religious Items
Click to see Recreational Items
Click to see Overall Interpretation

The Vault and its Excavation

The Immaculate Heart Academy outhouse was a wood walled rectangular shaped vault measuring 6 feet by 13½ and was 2½ feet deep.  The vault was filled with historic refuse representing the 1880’s Immaculate Heart Academy period. 

The vault was depicted on the 1888 Sanborn Insurance map and labeled as “W. C.” (a typical designation for “water closet” or outhouse).

Having been buried since the 1920's, the outhouse vault was completely intact when exposed by the construction excavator.  In an effort to enable new school construction to continue on schedule, a group of professional archaeologists and 15 volunteers spent a very long weekend excavating the outhouse feature.

Three contiguous 5 foot units (A, B, and C).  These were excavated in bulk sections.  Soils from the easternmost unit (A) and westernmost unit (C) were screened through ¼” mesh to recover as much cultural material as possible.  Material recovered from each section was bagged separately in hopes that further analysis may provide some hint at the overall use of the feature (e.g. boy’s side vs. girl’s side or nuns vs. students).

Once the outside sections were completed, the central unit (B) was hand dug and shovel-broadcast enabling the recovery of easily observed cultural material.  Soil profiles were drawn and soil samples taken from each of the main soil layers that were uncovered.  Construction crews worked around this feature while the crew recovered and screened its contents.

Eight soil samples and 57 five gal. buckets of artifacts were recovered and returned to the lab for analysis.  Following Cleaning and sorting there were 1,647 catalog entries representing several thousand individual artifacts.

Physical Characteristics of the Deposit

Soil layers throughout the privy sloped from high in the south to low in the north.  This suggests that the openings for sitting were located over the southern portion of the pit.  At least 4 distinct soil layers were observed and are pictured in this profile drawing along with the boundaries of the three excavation units (A, B, C). 

Soil Layers:

A. The surface of the entire privy area and extending into the vault was covered by broken brick and other structural debris in a dark organic soil matrix.  It is likely that this top layer was pushed into the upper portion of the privy vault during the demolition of the privy and surrounding structures.

B. Clay and gravel soils mixed with domestic trash.

C. Clay and gravel soils mixed with domestic trash.

D. A layer of rusty metal both within the soil column as well as along the floor.

The plan view of the privy vault (below) shows its construction.  The vault appears to have been lined with 1” or ½” x 12” redwood boards.  These boards were supported by 4 x 4” posts in each corner of the vault and along the long walls at 2 or 2½-foot intervals.  The floor of the vault was bare ground, however, in at least four places, 4 x 4” beams were used as spacers to hold the support posts apart against the weight of the earth.

A vertical interior wall of 1” or ½” x 12” redwood boards separated the western 5 feet of the vault from the eastern portion.  It is possible that this western 5 x 5 foot square area was originally an intact/standalone outhouse vault and that an expansion of the outhouse was needed prompting the addition of the 8 feet of wood lined vault to the east.  Alternatively, it is possible that the entire vault was constructed at once with a separating wall between the western and eastern areas for privacy purposes.  The addition of 1” thick, 5 x 10” pier boards under the wall supports in the western area, supports the “expand an existing privy” hypothesis.  If the entire vault were constructed at one time, these pier boards would be expected throughout the structure.

Although this discussion of vault construction may seem esoteric, knowing its history will make understanding its contents easier.  This description will enable comparison with similar facilities that have been discovered and excavated at other historic sites.

Materials Recovered

The outhouse materials could be separated into six general functional categories.  These categories correspond to the activities reported in historical documents relating to the school.

1. Teaching: As a school, teaching materials were expected to be found as part of the everyday refuse.  These materials included writing implements, slate boards and ink bottles.  The main school building was located directly south of the privy vault. 

2. Eating: As a boarding school and convent, dietary and kitchen related materials were expected.  These included dietary bone, shell, and organic materials, cooking, serving and eating ceramics and utensils.  The kitchen and dining hall were located southeast of the privy vault.

3. Personal Living: As both a boarding school and convent, daily personal items were expected.  These included clothing, grooming, personal adornment, and keepsake items.  The convent rooms were located in the “Chapel” building, southwest of the privy vault. The student dormitory rooms were located on the upper floors of the main school building directly south of the vault.

4. Medical:  Historical documents indicate that a women’s infirmary existed within the convent.  Medical related items were expected and included medicinal bottles, eyedroppers, and thermometers.  The infirmary room was located in the “Chapel” building, southwest of the privy vault.

5. Religious: As a convent and Catholic School, religious items were expected.  These included rosary beads, crucifix, religious medallions, holy water bottles, statues, and nun habits.  Although nun’s habits would have been stored primarily in the “Chapel” building (southwest of the privy vault), it is likely that other religious items were in use throughout the facility.

6. Recreation: Whenever children gather, there will be toys.  These included porcelain dolls, marbles, harmonicas, toy dishes, and more.  Toys were probably used everywhere at the facility.

Teaching

Learning to write is a critical part of schooling.  With writing implements at a premium, it becomes cost-effective to make use of slate boards as well as reusable quill pens and ink for most writing assignments.  Quill pen nibs were found in Units A and C of the privy vault.  Most pen nibs were of steel and often difficult to identify due to heavy rusting.  However, a few were of brass and two were actually gold.  One of the gold nibs was stamped “Mabie Todd & Co. New York” (C-254).

Mabie Todd & Co. was formed in New York in 1860 and introduced their first fountain pen in 1878.  They manufactured ornate writing instruments that were of jewelry quality (Mamoulides 2002).  

Also recovered was a “Pearce & Hoagland” stamped nib (B-67:) and a pencil end stamped “Eagle Pencil Co., New York” (C-250).  The Eagle Pencil Co. began operation in 1856.  By 1861 they were expanding and in 1864 opened a London office.  They manufactured the first eraser-tipped pencil in 1872 (Picard 2006).

All pencils recovered showed sharpening all the way to the bitter end.  Most pencils were of the standard crimped-on eraser style (C-249), however two replaceable eraser holders were recovered and one pencil had a fancy jeweled end (C-255).  Most ink appears to have been distributed to the students in ink bottles or wells that presumably fit into holes in the top of classroom desks.  Ink was purchased in bulk in large glass and ceramic inkbottles.  These were used to refill the wells at the desks.  Occasional fancy ink wells were recovered indicating the difference between the writing implements used by the students and those used by the school administration.

For the younger students, learning to write involved even more reusable and cost-effective hardware; the slate board and slate writer.  Both lined and unlined slate board fragments were recovered.  boards were found in Unit A (closest to the dining hall).  On close examination, scratched in letters and characters could still be observed on many of the broken slate board pieces.

Most teaching materials were recovered from Units A and C.  Using the concept of “least cost” (Earle 1980, Green 1980), if the privy was open and it was just as easy to access any portion of the facility, one would expect teaching refuse to be disposed of in the most efficient manner; closest to the room it was used in.

Unit A was closest to the Dining Hall and Unit C was closest to the Chapel building.

The main school building was located directly south of the privy.  If the privy were in an open area, all three units would have been equally accessible to anyone walking from the main school building.

Although it was a direct line to walk to the privy from the Chapel building (closest to Unit C) and from the kitchen/dining hall (Closest to Unit A), historical photos indicate that a wooden lattice arbor created a courtyard that cut off straight-line access to the privy from the main school building.  This arbor may have forced students and teachers to walk around the ends of the arbor on their way to the facility.  This means that the center section of the privy (Unit B) would have required the additional effort of a few more steps.  Thus most classroom refuse would be expected to be found in the Unit A and C portions of the privy.  The graphs of slate boards, pencils, pens, ink and mucilage bottles appear to bear out this hypothesis.

Many of the recovered slate board fragments contained shallow scratches left by students writing assignments.  Often these were undetectable until the slate board was dampened and held diagonally to the light.  As these light scratches are easily obliterated, care should be taken while handling the broken slate pieces. 

Other teaching materials included desk bells, scissors, thumbtacks, eyeglasses, etc.  All provide a sense of what life was like in the Immaculate Heart Academy classroom.

Eating

A large percentage of the materials recovered from the outhouse were kitchen and diet related items.  These included plates, serving and eating utensils, bone, shell, and even organic items.

Graphs of the locations of various types of bone provide insight into the locations of eating activities.  Most bone was mammal (beef, pork, etc.).  Mammal bone was concentrated in Units A and C.  Food related items were expected in Unit A, as this unit was closest to the kitchen/dinning building. 

But why Unit C?  It appears that the nuns and some of the patients in the infirmary preferred to take their meals in the Chapel building.  This would explain the high weights of certain types of bone in Unit C (located closest to the Chapel building).  This was true of mammal bone, eggshell (probably from hard boiled eggs), and bird bone (mostly chicken).  However, fishbone was found almost exclusively in Unit A. 

One possible explanation is that mammal and chicken meat can be cooked and eaten cold at a later time with no fear of spoilage.  The same is true of eggs.  Thus, these types of foods were more likely to be transported from the kitchen to other locations for consumption.  Fish does not fall into this category and was not a likely candidate for consumption away from the kitchen/dining area.

Marine shellfish remains were also found in the privy vault.  Although 15 species were represented, the most abundant by weight was Pismo clam (tivela).

The next most abundant by weight were oyster and cockle (clinocardium).  Both were popular shellfish in the early 20^th century diet.

Organic material recovered included charcoal along with various seeds and pits.  Most were recovered from Unit A (near the kitchen area).  Identifiable seeds included squash seeds, peach pits, cherry pits, and corncob pieces.

Eighteen pieces of flatware were recovered, including 3 table knives, 2 forks (three tine), 3 standard spoons, one teaspoon, one serving spoon, one butter knife, and 6 handles missing the business ends.  Flatware handles were of wood (6), steel (6), copper (5), and bone (1).

Also recovered was a rusty piece of metal that appeared to be the end of a frosting applicator.

Most dinnerware was of heavy utilitarian stoneware and cream ware.  As indicated in the graphs at right, most of these were found in Unit A (closest to the kitchen/dining hall).

An exception to this trend is seen with dessert bowls and salad plates (see below).  These appear to have been disposed of in the part of the privy closest to the Chapel building.  As was seen with “portable” foods listed on the previous pages, it is possible that these smaller dishes were used, broken, and disposed of by patients in the infirmary or nuns located in the Chapel building.

Virtually all the fancy “Victorian” style wares were found in Unit C (closest to the Chapel building).  This suggests an attempt by the nuns to bring a little of the “Victorian” era into their lives and further suggests that they ate in the Chapel building, separately from the students.

It is interesting to note that a few pieces of Chinese porcelain and stoneware were also recovered.  These included “Four Seasons” and polychrome condiment dishes, pieces of both blue and white and celadon rice bowls, pieces of food and liquor jars, a medicine vial, and large shipping jar that had been painted green and converted into a planter.  A green abalone shell was still in place blocking the drilled drain hole inside the jar.

Maker’s marks on pottery were used to develop the graph below.  The 22 different marks represented wares from 20 different companies.  The number of pieces from each suggest that pieces from the Thomas Furnival & Sons company were the most popular followed by John Maddock products, Johnson Bros., and J&G Meakin. 

Some pottery marks are confined to just a few years of manufacture and can assist in determining the age of the deposit (years of privy use in this case).  Obviously a piece of ceramic with a particular mark can be manufactured many years before it ends up broken in a trash pile.  However, it can’t end up in a trash pit before its year of manufacture.  Using this law and the span of years of each maker’s mark, brackets have been placed on this graph that represent the most likely span of years that the privy was in use.  We know that the privy already existed in 1888.  And the privy must have still been in use in 1906 to have contained a Maddock & Co. bowl.

As expected, food related bottles followed a similar pattern with preserve and condiment bottles found predominantly in Unit A.  Although many canning jars were found in Unit A (7), more were recovered from Unit C (11).  However, 10 canning jars were found in backdirt and not assigned to a unit location.  It is likely that jars found in backdirt came from the Unit “A” location as this was the area disturbed by the mechanical excavator. 

Of the canning jar manufacturers, “The Gem” jar was the most popular.  The screw top version of this jar was manufactured by the Hero Glass Works of Philadelphia beginning in 1870 and through 1880 (Toulouse 1971:223).

Hero Glass Works took over the fruit jar business assets from the Consolidated Fruit Jar Co. and changed their name to the Hero Fruit Jar Company.  They continued to make “The Gem” under the Consolidated name till 1884.

The very next year the Mason Fruit Jar Co. was formed in Philadelphia.  The “MASON” name was used on jars manufactured by the Mason Fruit Jar Co. between 1885 and 1900.  After 1900, the word “MASON’S” or “MASON JAR” was used.  This company closed in 1907 and another “Mason Fruit Jar Co.” was set up in Coffeyville Kansas.  In 1909 Ball Brothers bought this business and closed it in 1912 (Toulouse 1971:344).  The Ball Bros. Glass Manufacturing Co. operated from 1888 till 1919.  It was later renamed Ball Bros. Co. (1919-69) and then Ball Corp. (1969-).

Three “Lightening” fruit jars were recovered from the privy.  The patent for the “Lightening seal” was bought by Henry Putnam in 1875.  The patent was for a seal that closed small-mouth bottles and it was used extensively for beverage bottles before the crown cap was invented.  In 1882, Putnam received his own patent for the application of the Lightening seal to fruit jars.   By 1886, his “Lightening” fruit jars were manufactured by the Hazel Glass Co. (Toulouse 1971:331).  C. N. Brady of the Hazel Glass Co. started the Atlas Glass Co. and using the newly developed Blue glassmaking machine the Atlas Company manufactured the “Atlas E-Z SEAL” version of the “Lightening” jar.  In 1901, Brady merged Atlas Glass with Republic Glass Co. (a company that made jelly tumblers) and the Wheeling Metal Co. (that made caps for Mason jars).  The new company was called “Atlas Glass and Metal Company”.  The next year (1902) Brady combined his new Atlas Company with the old Hazel Glass Co. forming “Hazel Atlas”.  This company manufactured the Atlas E-Z Seal fruit jars until it was bought by the Continental Can Co. in 1957 (Toulouse 1971:239).

Other food related bottles included pickle/preserve ware, condiment bottles such as mustard, catsup, jelly tumblers, and spice shakers as well as oil bottles and serving bottles such as castor bottles.

Cooking related materials included 4 pans, 3 panhandles, and a coffee pot.  All were of gray enamelware and popular items in the Sears mail-order catalog.

The only food related bottles most commonly found in the Unit C part of the privy vault were wine bottles.  It is possible that wine would have been used both for medicinal purposes in the infirmary as well as for the sacraments during services in the Chapel building.  These uses would explain its dominance in the Unit C section of the privy.

Several “male oriented” materials were recovered.  These materials did not appear to fit within the “all-girl convent school” genre.  Most were recovered from the Unit A location.  These materials included whiskey and beer bottles and flasks, shot glasses, a smoking pipe stem and firearm material.

Whiskey and beer bottles included Jesse Moore Hunt’s Bourbon & Rye and John Rapp & Son bottles. 

Jesse Moore Kentucky bourbon was distributed in San Francisco by Elia Chielovich (a Serbian immigrant).  Henry B. Hunt worked in the San Francisco Office.  During the 1870’s, the Moores decided Hunt was a better salesman and sacked Chielovich.  Hunt became a partner in the company in 1876 and it became known as Jesse Moore-Hunt Co. (G.E. White 2003).

Both shoo-fly and picnic flasks were recovered as were shot glasses.

Other beverage bottles included aqua beer and soda bottles.  The picture shows an ABGM Co. beer bottle and an L. Albert  S.L.O. Soda Works bottle with Hutchinson spring stopper still attached.

The ABGM Co. mark was used by the Adolphus Busch Glass Manufacturing Co. between 1886 and 1928 (Toulouse 1971:26).

The localized nature of these items within Unit A of the privy vault suggests that booze drinking was taking place in the kitchen/laundry building area.

It is very possible that the school hired a male cook or laundry person that used this area.  It is also possible that a school-employed “handyman” may have operated out of this building.   This would explain the alcohol and firearm items found in the Unit A area of the vault.

Firearm items included a 40 cal. slug (A-129), a W.R.A. Co 32-40 casing (A-130 made for the Winchester 1892 repeating rifle), a UMC 44-40 casing (A-131 made for the 1892 Colt revolver), several 22 cal. long and short casings, and 12 gage shotgun cartridges.  Shotgun casings included 1901 Winchester Repeater (B-128), 1901 Blue Rival (C-112), and UMC Co. Black Club (C-112) (Dillon 1995:83).

Personal Living

As the Academy was a boarding school and convent, personal living items were expected to be found in the privy vault.  Clothing items, grooming items, personal adornment, and keepsakes are all included in this category.

Clothing items included actual cloth remnants as well as fasteners, buttons, and shoe parts. 

Grooming items included toothbrushes, hairbrushes and combs, cosmetics, and perfumes.

Personal adornment included rings, bracelets, hairpins, and purses.

Keepsakes included vases, picture frames, and birdcage parts.

The majority of clothing items recovered were clearly female related.  Most were fragments of black cloth that made up nun habits.  In addition to the cloth, steel stays with brass clasps were recovered.  These likely represent the fasteners sewn into robes.  Some of the clasps had “WB”, “PN”, and “PAT Jan 18 1881” stamped on them.

As expected, the majority of these items were recovered from Unit C (that portion of the vault closest to the Chapel/convent building).

Other fasteners were recovered from both Units A and C, with the majority from Unit A (see graph next page).  This was particularly true of hose supporter clasps.   Unit A was closest to the Kitchen/dining/laundry building.  This building housed a large kettle mounted on a brick firebox that would have been used to heat water for cooking and laundry.

Knowing that the kitchen/dining building also contained the laundry facilities, and assuming that undergarments would have been washed more frequently than outerwear, it stands to reason that a higher rate of breakage of these items would take place at the laundry facility.  Thus discards containing more clasps, hose supporters, and strap adjusters would likely end up in that portion of the privy vault closest to the laundry room (Unit A).

At least 8 different styles of hose supporters were recovered.  The photo shows a sample of all those that were stamped or embossed with a name and/or patent date.  Most were chromed brass, some were plain brass.  The Velvet Grip clasp ends were rubber clad, but most were plain metal.

At the turn-of-the-century, long stockings and knee pants were worn by both boys and girls.  Stocking supporters were needed to keep these up and the George Frost Company (Boston) manufactured the “Velvet Grip” hose supporters for this purpose (Historical Boys’ Clothing 2004).

At least 6 styles of strap adjusters were also recovered.  Many of these had names and patent dates.  The Ferris Brothers Company (341 Broadway, New York) manufactured under-waists and corsets for girls and women at least as early as 1880.  Under-waists were worn by both boys and girls to support additional underwear and outer-garments.  They were often of elastic material and came equipped with reinforcement straps, waist buttons, and garter tabs for attaching hose supporters.  Under-waist popularity declined in the 1930’s  (Historical Boys’ Clothing 2004).

Buttons were sorted and cataloged by material and size based on Osborn’s Button Button (1993).  Button size is measured using the French system known as “lignes” (lines).  Buttons recovered from the privy vault were made of bone, shell, metal, celluloid, cloth, vulcanized rubber, Jet, glass, and ceramic (prosser).  The majority of buttons recovered were of the prosser type (often called “China” buttons).  Prosser buttons were manufactured from the late 1840’s on in France, England and New York.  Celluloid was invented in 1870 and solid buttons of celluloid began to appear in 1890.  Bone, shell, and metal buttons have been manufactured for hundreds of years.

The importance of buttons in historic archaeology centers around the fact that they are durable (usually outlasting other clothing items) and varied in their cost.  Expensive clothing would often have expensive buttons.  Everyday work clothes usually had less expensive, utilitarian buttons.  This allows the archaeologist to use buttons as a way of piecing together the economic status of the people being studied.

Analysis of the recovered buttons indicated that they were just as likely to be disposed of in Unit A (near the laundry) as Unit C (near the nun’s quarters).  There didn’t appear to be much difference in the location based on button material.  When button size was graphed by button material, it was found that most small buttons (16 lines and smaller) were of shell.  Most medium size buttons (20-28 line) were prosser.  Metal buttons were found in all size ranges but bone buttons were found in only a few size categories (22 and 24 line).

The utilitarian buttons were of shell or prosser manufacture.  It appeared that more expensive buttons were made of rubber, glass, jet, metal, and possibly bone.  Although buttons had no writing, several snaps were stamped with the maker’s name and at least one had a patent date (1889).

A few studs were found made mostly of celluloid and shell.

Shoe parts and shoe polish bottles were discovered in all parts of the vault.  Shoe parts included cloth and leather uppers, leather and rubber soles, shoe eyelets, bootlace holders, and bone handles for shoe button hooks.  Although many more shoes were probably represented by the material recovered, at least 13 leather heals/soles were recovered and 2 rubber soles.

Seven types of shoe polish/leather dressing bottles were recovered.  The graph on the next page lists the makers and number of bottles recovered.  Also recovered were bone handles with rusted metal pieces embedded in the ends.  It is likely that these represent fancy shoe button hooks.  Button-down shoes were popular during the turn-of-the-century.

It is logical to assume that grooming would take place in the privacy of one’s dorm room.  For the nuns these were in the Chapel building, for the students these were in the main school building facing Palm Street.

As there would have been both hot and cold water in the kitchen area early in the morning and late in the evening, it is also possible that some grooming would take place in this facility.

Graphs of grooming materials (right) suggest that less grooming took place in the kitchen area than in the privacy of the dorm rooms.  A large selection of toothbrushes was recovered from the privy vault.  The locations of these items suggest that they were not used in the Kitchen building.

Of the 18 toothbrushes recovered, at least 14 different brands were represented.  Most were made in France, however at least one was from Japan, one from San Francisco, and one from San Bernardino.  All were made of bone or ivory and two had grooves on the back for replacing worn out bristles.

Hair combs and brushes were found in Units B and C.  All combs were made of vulcanized rubber or celluloid.  There were 14 regular combs, 5 flea combs, 2 hairband combs, and 2 brushes.  The hair band combs were most likely worn by the nuns to hold their hair back. 

During a time when there were often many days between baths, perfume and cologne was an important commodity.  

Some of these bottles were sealed with tapered glass stoppers. 

Hoyt’s German Cologne was introduced in 1870 by E.W. Hoyt.  Hoyt began working at E.A. Staniel’s apothecary shop in Lowell Mass. at age 13 (1851).  When Staniels died in 1861, Hoyt took over the business.  He developed the cologne at the shop but by 1877 the cologne business had grown so large that he sold the old shop to concentrate on the cologne business.  His partner F.B. Shedd was the marketing wizard behind the product.  Hoyt died in 1887, the same year Shedd brought out Hoyt’s “Rubifoam” tooth wash (Hoyt 2005).

Personal adornment items were found in all Units, but appeared to be more prominent in Unit A (closest to the Kitchen/Laundry building).

Hairpins, broaches, rings, beads, and necklace pieces were recovered.  Also recovered were two coin purse clasps and parts of three bracelets. 

Bracelets were made of copper (A-220), Brass  (B-75), and glass (B-299).  One bronze pendant had “W.R. Bird, Grass Valley Cal.” Stamped on it.

Cosmetic bottles included cold creams, Vaseline, three tooth-brushing preparations, and a Resinol Chem. Co. bottle.  The Resinol Chem. Co. was first listed in the 1896 Baltimore City directory.  The company manufactured skin care products, soap, shaving soap, and a laxative and tonic (Maryland Historical Society 1999). 

Rubifoam was a ruby-red tooth brushing fluid introduced in 1887 by E.W. Hoyt & Co. Lowell Mass.   Sozodont was manufactured by Van Buskirk (Fike 1987:181)

A ceramic cold cream or makeup jar was also recovered (B-14 below).

Keepsakes included “Victorian” era beveled picture frame and mirror glass, vases, and fancy candleholders.

Along the same lines as keepsakes were fancy brass tongs that were often packaged with a box of chocolates.   Here we have one with “Huskey’s”, one with “Geo Hass & Sons”, and one with “Christopher’s” stamped in the metal.

Medical

An active infirmary would be expected to create illness related refuse that would in turn find its way into the outhouse.  The most obvious illness related materials recovered were medicine bottles.  Prescription bottles outnumbered all other types of medical bottles.  These were followed in numbers by patent medicine bottles and finally by general medicine bottles. 

When separated into these three categories (prescription, medical, patent medicine) and graphed based on where they were found within the privy deposit, several trends were discovered.  Patent medicines were found predominantly in Unit C (closest to the infirmary).  Prescription bottles were found predominantly in Unit B.  General medicine bottles were found predominantly in Unit A (closest to the kitchen).  Assuming unobstructed access to the privy, and using the “Least Cost” theory (Earle 1980, Green 1980), items should be disposed of closest to their place of use.

The location of bottles in the privy suggests that most patent medicines were consumed in the infirmary and most general medicines were consumed in the kitchen/dining area.

Many prescription bottles are embossed with the name and location of the pharmacy that issued the prescription.  A pie chart of prescription bottles based on their place of origin provided interesting information about where the patients in the infirmary may have recently been living before moving to San Luis Obispo.  As was expected, most prescription bottles were from local San Luis Obispo pharmacies.  The out-of-area prescription bottles suggest that some patients in the infirmary had recently arrived from Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Bernardino, and Petaluma.  It is possible that some came from as far away as Minneapolis and Philadelphia.  Well-represented San Luis Obispo Pharmacies included Booth and Latimer’s Drug Store (23 bottles), Norton & Norton Druggists & Chemists (16), T.A. Greenleaf’s Palace Drug Store (5), Booth’s (3), Latimer’s (3), Dr. Krill (1), and Dawson Drug Co. 794 Higuera St. (1).

An analysis was conducted of patent medicines in an attempt to determine the types of illnesses treated.  Using the “Comprehensive Guide to Historic, Embossed Medicine Bottles” (Fike 1987), a list of bottles and the ailments they treated was developed.

The graph below lists the number of bottles recovered relating to each of the ailments listed.  Also listed are the numbers of different remedies tried for each ailment.

Although it is possible that there is a correlation between the number of bottles used and the prevalence of a particular ailment at the school, there is no way of knowing how many bottles used at the school ended up at some other (unexcavated) refuse location.  There is also no way of knowing if one person required several bottles of a particular medicine, while several other people may have shared only one bottle of another medication.  it is safe to say that constipation was a common occurrence at the school.  All but two of the constipation remedy bottles were for children (Fig Syrup), suggesting that the food served in the dining hall may have been a problem.

Although a host of ailments are suggested by the medicine bottles recovered, it is safe to say that tuberculosis, the common cold, and dandruff were problems that plagued the residents.  In the table that follows, each patent medicine recovered is listed in the category of ailment it treated along with how many bottles were found and a brief description.

Patent medicines can be used as time markers to assist in establishing the age of outhouse.  The date of introduction and time span of a medicine are useful.  Also important is the passage of the “Pure Food and Drug Act” in 1906.  The Act prohibited the use of the term “Cure” on any medicine.  Following the passage of the Act, medicines that once listed “Cure” in their name either dropped the word or replaced it with “Remedy”.

The graph below lists those patent medicines that could be tied to particular time periods and indicates the best guess time span of privy use based on patent medicines.  You will notice that those medicines with “Cure” in their name ceased production or changed their names shortly after passage of the 1906 Act.  It is important to note that no bottles were recovered with the word “Remedy” as part of the name.  This suggests that use of this privy stopped sometime before those manufacturers had changed their names (i.e. not long after the passage of the 1906 Act).

Religious 

The fact that the Academy was a Catholic school that included a special Chapel building and convent, suggested that religious items should be present along with the other refuse recovered from the privy.

A graph of religious items based on their location within the privy indicated that rosary beads were more numerous than any of the other items.  The number and locations of the beads suggest that they were likely owned by most students and teachers and that they were conveniently disposed of wherever they happened to break. 

Crucifix items were only found in Unit C (closest to the convent/Chapel building).  Medallions (Miraculous Infant, Jesus of Prague A-142, and Christ U-103) and silver heart necklaces (probably representing the “Immaculate Heart Order”) were found in Unit A (nearest the dining hall).

Why would heart necklaces and medallions be found in the privy section nearest the kitchen/dining hall and not near the Chapel/convent building? 

As was discussed above in the “Personal Living” section, it is likely that much of the personal hygiene activities (bathing, face washing, etc.) took place in the kitchen/dining building.  This structure housed a kitchen and laundry area.  Sanborn maps depict a large kettle mounted on a brick firebox that would have been used to heat water for laundry.  As the kitchen would have had both hot and cold water available early in the morning and late in the evening, it would have been the natural place for both students and nuns to take baths and conduct other personal hygiene activities.

 Medallions and heart necklaces were likely worn all the time and only removed during bathing.  Their removal in the kitchen/laundry area would have increased the chances that they would break or get lost in this area… thus their final location in the privy section nearest the kitchen building (Unit A).

A large crucifix would have been worn primarily by nuns on outside clothing.  These articles of clothing would have been changed more often in their personal dormitory rooms located in the Chapel/convent building.  It is logical that breakage and loss of these items would have occurred more regularly at that location… thus their final location in the privy section nearest the Chapel/convent building (Unit C).

Recreation

Whenever a group of kids get together, there will always be toys.  The graphs at right suggest that most recreation activities took place west of the privy (the direction of the Chapel building).   feature was discovered west and north of the privy and associated with the Immaculate Heart Academy.  All jax and marbles were found in Unit A and may suggest indoor recreation took place in the dining hall during rainy days.

Although it is difficult to assign gender values to particular toys, at least three of the classes of toys listed on the graph are suggestive of girl related activities (jax, dolls, toy dishes).  Marbles and toy weapons (gun and hatchet) are frequently listed as boy related items.  The “bike” listing on the graph is associated with spoked wheels originally believed to be from a tricycle, however, it is more likely that they were from a real or doll’s baby carriage.  The existence of a boy’s school northeast of the privy indicates that boys were in the area, however their use of the Immaculate Heart privy and their interaction with girls from the Academy is unknown.

Not listed in the graph above are two harmonica pieces; one from Unit A and one from Unit C.

Porcelain doll parts appear to represent the majority of recreational items recovered.  Most doll parts were poured bisque head pieces of the type manufactured in Germany during the 1890’s (Coleman 1986:143, 463).  Some of these pieces had embossed lettering; “8 Germany”, “..…any”, “D & Kuep/5.oa”, and “250”.   Also recovered were pieces of 4 Frozen Charlotte dolls (Coleman 1986:445).  These dolls were very popular and were manufactured by C.F. Lauer (1887) and possibly Oscar Strasburger & Co. (1880).

Related to the doll parts was the recovery of a doll feeding bottle.  This tiny blown, two piece mold “C. B.” bottle even had measurement graduations embossed on the side.

Toy dinnerware recovered included 2 bowls, 3 cups, 9 saucers, one plate and one sugar bowl. 

Two marbles were recovered from Unit A.  Both were unglazed clay marbles and were likely manufactured during the 1880-90’s (Webb 1994:19, 90).

One steel jax piece was recovered from Unit A (A-231).

A steel toy six-shooter and a small steel Indian-style tomahawk were recovered from Unit C.

Two harmonica pieces were recovered, one brass (C-86) and one zinc (A-230).

Interpretation

Although there is much more research that can be conducted, even with this minimal evaluation, it is clear that materials recovered from the privy vault have and will continue to provide more information about the daily life of the Immaculate Heart Academy than any historical documents that might be found.

Artifacts and historical maps suggest that this vault was in use for a period of about 20 years between 1887 and 1907.  The most obvious dating evidence recovered was a celluloid calendar from 1902 (A-434).

The items recovered have not only provided a look into the educational aspects of the school, but have also allowed an examination of turn-of-the-century medical practices, personal living habits, recreation, and institutional food production.

During the current analysis we have learned that appearances were important.  Button analysis suggests that the clothes of both students and nuns were plain, however they were washed regularly, shoes were polished, and hygiene was looked after.  It appears that most boarders had their own toothbrushes and combs, flea combs were used when needed, and perfumes and colognes helped keep things smelling good between baths.  Bracelets, hairpins, and other adornments were not common, with the exception of rosaries, religious necklaces and medallions.  Living quarters were brightened up with fancy flower-filled vases and a pet bird.

Toys were almost exclusively female oriented, suggesting a clear separation between the Immaculate Heart Academy girl students and the students at the adjacent Boy’s School.  Outdoor play areas were most likely located in the western part of the school property.  Rainy-day play likely took place in the dining hall.  Toys fell into two groups; “personal-play” items (e.g. dolls, harmonicas, etc.), and “group-play” items (e.g. jax, toy dishes, etc.).

The location and type of dishes discovered suggest that the nuns ate their meals on “Victorian” style dishes in the Chapel building, while the students ate meals on common stoneware dishes in the Kitchen/dining building.  The diet appeared to be made up of bulk canned foods and fruits, as well as fresh fruits and garden vegetables (squash, peaches, cherries, corn on the cob), meat, chicken, fish, and shellfish (most likely clam chowder).  It appears that all cooking took place at the school.

There was evidence of interaction with the Chinese community that lived two blocks east of the school.  A Chinese shipping jar had been converted into a planter.  In addition, pieces of Chinese rice bowls, condiment dishes, food and liquor jars, and a medicine vial were found in Unit A.  It is possible that laundry or cooking activities were performed by a Chinese employee.

Male oriented items were discovered suggesting that the school hired a male cook or handyman that operated out of the Kitchen/laundry building.

Writing implements dominated the teaching items recovered.  These materials fell into three major categories that most likely correspond with three levels of education. 

1. The elementary writing implement was the slate board and slate writer.  These were likely used by the students in elementary classes as an inexpensive, reusable tool for learning to read and write. 
2. The second level would have been pencils.  Many were discovered, both with and without erasers.  Most pencils appeared to have been hand sharpened and were not discarded until the point had been sharpened to the bitter end of the pencil.  It is likely that pencils were used by more advanced students to create a more permanent written record. 
3. The third level of education was most likely represented by the presence of many steel pen nibs and ink bottles.  These items would have been more costly than the reusable slate boards and pencil implements.  It is likely that ink and pen were reserved for the most advanced students. 

Fancy gold and brass pen nibs along with fancy ink wells provide insight into the writing implements used by the teachers and school administrators.  Eye glasses (with both decorative and corrective lenses) were recovered suggesting that glasses were both in style and, in some cases, necessary.

One of the most interesting classifications of material recovered were the medicine bottles.  Although there is historic documentation that an infirmary for women existed at the school, this historical record has no information on the types of ailments treated.  Based on analysis of patent medicine bottles, we now know that the infirmary housed patients that were suffering from tuberculosis, constipation, the common cold, weakness, pain, stomach acid, rash, infection, kidney/bladder problems, and “female” problems.

Through analysis of prescription bottles and their place of origin, information about where some of the patients may have come from was gathered.   Most patients were using prescriptions from local San Luis Obispo pharmacies, however, others were using prescriptions from Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Bernardino, and Petaluma pharmacies.

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Copyright © 2011 Lake County Archaeology
Last modified: April 26, 2011