If a house in town the 1910's or 20's had only an outhouse, does that mean that it did't have running water inside the house?
Specifically, I mean Indianapolis. About a mile or mile and a half south of the center of town. (Which was or at least became the poor side of town, compared to the north side.)
My mother told me that she used an outhouse when she was little, but I guess I assumed my grandparents still had a sink in the kitchen with city water, rather than going out to a well, or pumping in the kitchen.
Being such a big country and given that all this evolved over decades I would expect that there were a variety of combinations. Nothing says that one couldn't have added a well pump and tank for the house without installing toilets, sewer system, etc.
Oh, yeah. We had that! In the 60's. I forgot. So you've all helped complete my image of my mother's home, until she was 10 or ~13.
Her friends were moving to the north side, and she wanted to move too, but her mother didn't want the headache of moving. Then finally the family moved, and more than once after that. My mother just wished they had started earlier.
Current system in this house-- Got city water in the 80's. No sign of city sewer. [though they've been talking about widening the state road in front of the house, for 25 years. When they get around to it, they'll probably do sewer, too]
Our 'summer camp' when we were growing up was an 18th century farmhouse. When it was built there was a well dug under the kitchen, so there was probably a pitcher pump at a sink of some sort.
A 3 hole 'back'-house was built right into the building- beyond the woodshed. That was one spoiled lady.
My GP had running water but had outhouses. Tub in kitchen for baths, hot water from coal stove. Grandfather would come home coal black.
Oddity around Pittsburgh in later years. Toilet in basement with no walls. The Pittsburgh toilet. I don't understand why they didn't have shower, but did have sink for clothes.
When my mother bought our home in Indianapolis in 1957, she noticed that some of the neighbors had bushes planted up close to the road, and others stayed 15 or 20 feet away. She asked and learned that the county owned the land to the farther bushes, and they might be widening the road. 55 years later and the road hasn't budged. .
Yeah we had a septic tank and a finger system. The tank is under a pink colored cement patio. There was an empty circle above where they had to dig to clean the tank. My mother planted flowers. That was good, because when they dug it up to clean, they didnt' dig in the middle of the yard, but iIf they ever have to dig it up to replace the tank,, they'll not be able to match the cement. I was there 4 years ago, but the patio was covered with snow. If I'd remembered, I would have dug down through the snow, to see if it ever had to be replaced.
In the 2nd half of the summer you could t ell where the fingers were because that's where the grass was green. "It don't rain in Indianapolis in the summer time."
I don't get it. Built into the building but past the woodshed? How are both possible?
Another interesting thing about Indianapolis is that it has two reservoirs, one where sailboats are permitted and one where people use motorboats. They even have a boat for tours or rides, about 75 feet long.
Somewhere I said that there was motorboating in the reservoir and people didn't believe me. Maybe that was AHR. But I checked 4 years ago and I was right.
It depends on the age of the house, I guess. My parents (Mom is 91) had windmills for livestock and hand pumps for the house. They had an outhouse. I think REA first brought electricity to that farm sometime around 1947 if I remember the stories correctly. The first farmhouse I grew up in had running water supplied by a private well. The only odd thing was lack of a toilet. The outhouse was maybe 50 yards away or so. There was also a separate wash house on that farm. That farm had artisan wells way back when. Livestock watering was easy. The artisan wells are history. Irrigation has dropped the water levels too far.
I have a friend in the city of pittsburgh that has city water for many years, but is still on a septic tank, because of elevations, last i heard it would cost
85 grand for a new line, o lift pump for the sewer line
In NYC, it was illegal, for decades I think, to take a bath. Because heaing the water was so much effort, and maybe the water and heat cost money, that more than one person would have to bath in the same water. So people were supposed to go to the public baths, which might have been showers.
formatting link
built in 1904.
It seems public baths were legistlated in NY when many people in tenements had no place to bathe at all. I don't know where the galvanized tub that hang outsdie the kitchen window between buildings came in, before then or afterwards.
I guess the law was written so it excluded people with some money.
Yes, very likely. Many places had pumps for water, then eventually city water, but no sewer. Some houses had septic tanks. In fact, I know of a few houses like that today.
My grandfather's farm had running water in the barn, courtesy of a "ram pump" down in the springhouse about 200 feet or more from the barn. The "dairy cooler" was cooled by that spring water, The house, however, had a pump at the kitchen sink, and a pump on the cistern out back. The "backhouse" was in the orchard.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.