There is a small body of literature on the development of "warming rooms"
and public privies as economic development strategies for small, rural towns
in the late 19th and early 20th century.  Most of it deals with urban
development in the Midwest where there was some resistance to providing
facilities for the usual influx of Saturday shoppers.  Beside toilets and
water sources, the towns had to provide places to escape winter cold while
pa knocked back a few in the tav.  The Chambers of Commerce lobbied local
government to use tax money for such public facilities to encourage farm
families to come to town.

Can anybody suggest comparable studies for the ante-bellum centuries?

tom


..........................
T.R. Magnuson
Trading Path Association
PO Box 643
122 S Churton St, Suite 204
Hillsborough, NC  27278
919-644-0600
www.tradingpath.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 11:15 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Before the Portable Toilet


Bushes.
People would go out in the woods and "relieve" themselves behind a bush.
Those of us old enough to do so can remember long drives and seeing cars
stopped along the road and someone, often a child, hopping out of the woods,
fiddling with their garments, trying to straighten themselves out before
getting back on the road.
Not very dignified but before the days of rest areas and frequently placed
exits with rather tidily appointed facilities that was the only recourse. I
was thinking about that the other day.....how nice it is to have rest stops
and gas stations and how one does not have to resort to stepping through
poison ivy and tick infested woods to find a secluded spot for taking care
of  these matters.
I don't think folks used to be as squeamish about these things. We've gotten
very prissy, haven't we?

Deane Mills
York County, VA


----- Original Message -----
From: "Brent Tarter" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 10:36 AM
Subject: Before the Portable Toilet


I noticed yesterday that in preparation for the Thursday visit of Queen
Elizabeth to Richmond the grounds staff has placed more than 75 bright
blue and green portable toilets in Capital Square, where a large crowd
is expected. They add a dash of color to the scene, but I am not sure
that on they whole they classify as a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

I wonder, though, for all the centuries before portable toilets, what
corresponding preparations got made for large, protracted gatherings of
people at such events as revival meetings, political rallies, and the
like. Several thousand people spent the day on Jamestown Island in May
1857 celebrating the first settlement of the colony, for instance, but
accounts of that event that I have seen  mention speaking and eating and
drinking but nothing else.

I suppose that people researching such events may have encountered some
references to that important subject, even though once upon a time it
might have been regarded as improper to mention it. Students of social
history or public health may also have knowledge of this subject, but I
confess that I do not recall seeing any references at all.

Perhaps somebody out there can satisfy our purely empirical curiosity
about that part of the past.

Brent Tarter
The Library of Virginia
[log in to unmask]

Visit the Library of Virginia's Web site at http://www.lva.lib.va.us