Ned (or anyone else interested),

        Here is a small addition to your collection addressing point #2.

> 2. Has anyone studied the movement, concurrent with the introduction of
> running water, of the toilet from the outhouse to the back porch?  When,
> and under what circumstances, did it become acceptable to put the toilet
> inside the house?  We know, from archaeology and documentation, that the
> first plumbed flush toilets were installed outside the house, sometimes in
> the porch and sometimes in the old privies. Has anyone looked at the market
> share enjoyed by frostproof flush toilets that could be installed in
> unheated spaces? That might tell us something about where the potties were
> located when running water became available.


        In a recent excavation in El Paso, Texas, we tested a privy pit that
contained a commode atop a great deal of glass and other artifacts.  A
sanitary sewer line was introduced in "the mid to late 1910's."  The commode
had a manufacturer's mark that suggested "that the retrofit occurred in the
early 1920's."  (P.54)
        Glass artifacts (my contribution to the report) suggest that the privy was
used from around 1900 to about 1930.  I have not seen any other local
reports that deal with the issues Ned raised.

Peterson, John A, Stephen Mbutu, Bill Lockhart, William J. Fling III, Eric
Bangs, and Mark Willis
        2000 The State Office Building Archaeological Project: Testing Report.
Anthroplolgy Research Center, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso.

        When I still lived in Washington, D. C., a story was circulating about the
behavior of Lyndon B. Johnson.  According to the story, LBJ used to hold
conferences in the White House while seated upon (and using) the toilet.  I
have no confirmation for this story and pass it on for what it is worth.

Bill


Bill Lockhart
New Mexico State University
Alamogordo, NM
(505) 439-3732