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The little house behind the big house. Every home had one. For obvious reasons, almost every lighthouse had one. They were called the “outhouse,” the “privy,” and “the necessary.”
Lighthouses on land had an outhouse like most homes did. A little shed, with a bench inside, with one or two holes, opening to a pit. This included lighthouses on islands with land.
However, other offshore lighthouses presented a problem. They were built on a rock, a screwpile or a caisson; there was no room to dig a pit for the outhouse. So, the builders were very inventive. But, the solution to the sanitary problem was not very sanitary. On screwpile lighthouses, for the most part, a little wooden outhouse was built hanging out over the water. Open, yes, open to the water. Caisson lighthouses were built on a concrete caisson and for the most part, they also had a little wooden or metal privy hanging out over the water. Several of the screwpile lighthouses, actually had “indoor” facilities. A little “closet” was built in one of the bedrooms, with the requisite bench with a hole opening to the water below. What a luxury that must have been for the lighthouse keeper’s wife, in an era when all of Nature’s call included a trip outside to the outhouse. (Except the times when a chamber pot was used).
Thomas Point, Maryland originally had an indoor closet, but at some point in the late 1800s, for some reason, a new one was built hanging out over the deck.
Henry Gonzales of Thomas Point Lighthouse wrote: “Thomas Point was built in 1875 with an interior water closet. It was literally in a closet in one of the two bedrooms on the 1st story. We know this from the original as-built drawings of 1876. The outdoor privy was added sometime after 1885, because that is the oldest photo we have of the lighthouse (1885) and it does not appear in the photo yet. We have been searching through the logs to see if it makes any mention of construction of the outdoor privy to get a date, but no luck so far.” He said the privy is still fully functional although the EPA would probably have a problem with it today. Just "watch out belowwww!"
In Mobile Bay, Alabama, the Middle Bay Lighthouse also had the facilities in a closet in one of the bedrooms. Hal Pierce of the Alabama Lighthouse Association writes that all that is left of the indoor facility is a hole in the floor. If you are out there in a boat, you can actually look up under the lighthouse and see the opening. Hopefully no one will be there. (and using it).
Fourteen Foot Bank, Delaware, was built on a caisson.
Bob Trapani, Jr., executive director of the American Lighthouse Foundation
took some photos on Fourteen Foot Bank in 2000 when he was working with the Coast Guard Aids to Navigation, Cape May.
He said “I remember stepping into the privy and looking through the opening of the toilet seat right down to the waters of the Delaware Bay and thinking, “Man, you sure wouldn't want to spend much time hanging out in this place during winter or summer.'’ The icy winds of winter blowing up through the opening of the privy would make any trip to this place a quick one, and during summer, I can only imagine how the stuffy heat in a confined place and the biting flies on the bay would also hasten one's necessary duty.
Though the rest of the Delaware Bay lighthouses all possessed fading aspects of a by gone way of life for keepers who once tended the lights, the privy on Fourteen Foot Bank was one structural aspect that no amount of automation could alter in terms of its historical connection.
The Florida Reef Lights all had crew quarters and it seems that all would have pretty much the same arrangement as Sombrero Key Light. In even earlier years, the Sand Key Light was on a sandbar or island and at one time there was a privy on land, but it and the sandbar were washed away in a hurricane.
Richard Shinn, a member of the Florida Lighthouse Association, was stationed on Sombrero Key as a young “Coastie” many years ago. He said: “The privy was a bit to the right of center on the lower deck. A white life ring was hanging from its side. It was a "one holer." The privy was about 20 feet more or less above the water, so it afforded quite a view. You could see the various swarms of small fish swimming around in the water. If the door was open, we could sit there and watch the fishing boats trolling over the reefs.”
He mentioned that he was not sure about the other Reef Lights but said: “Also, being a man, I know if you just had to pee and did not have a guest, you might just pee off the side of the lighthouse.”
Dr. Charles Feltner of the DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society of Michigan said “DeTour Reef Light became operational in November of 1931. At that time the station had a flushable toilet that emitted black water (sewage) directly into the lake on the south side of the lighthouse. Grey water (water that was used for washing, etc, but not sewage) was also dumped directly into the lake on the south side of Detour Reef Light. Drinking water was taken from the lake using a well on the north side of the lake. In 1935 there was a great deal of concern regarding the purity of drinking water at lighthouses in the 11th district and consequently the drinking water at DeTour Reef Light was subjected to chlorination. This remained the case until the lighthouse was automated in 1974.
“When we restored the lighthouse in 2003-04, we installed a Coast Guard approved sanitation system that treated black water. We continued to dump grey water directly into the lake. However, we installed an ultra violet water purification system for drinking water that has worked out very well.”
Tom Tag of Great Lakes Lighthouse Research, said when queried, “I don't recall any offshore lighthouse on the Great Lakes with an outside privy.” However, he indicated that many of the lighthouses probably had indoor facilities with piping to the outside.
He continued, saying, “On many rock lighthouses, especially overseas, they
used the chamber pot method. I have seen photos of stains on the outside of the towers below high windows. These stains were not caused by the sea.”
Old photos of Stannard Rock Light, Michigan during construction show a privy that was hanging over the deck. However, later photos do not show this, so maybe there was a facility of some sort inside after the lighthouse was finished.
Jeff Shook of Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy www.michiganlights.com said that another lighthouse in Michigan that had a privy was the St. Clair Flats Lighthouse on Lake St. Clair near Detroit. Although this was a large light station, an old photo from 1904 clearly shows the privy hanging over the water.
In 1947, John Tregembo, a young “Coastie” was stationed for a season on Rock of Ages Lighthouse in Lake Superior. He said they had showers and flush toilets. He learned later that all the liquid and waste was piped into a septic tank under the dock. In fact he said “the dock WAS a septic tank, with a manhole cover on it.” It retained the solid waste, and the liquids eventually flowed out into the waters of Lake Superior. John said on the other side of the lighthouse a pipe went out a long way into the lake and provided the fresh water for their needs.
Wayne Wheeler, Founder and President of the U.S. Lighthouse Society, was once stationed on St. George Reef, California. When asked, he said, “St. George Reef had internal heads that were piped "over the side" as it were. I never saw any outhouses on the deck in any historic photos.”
Writer and author of many lighthouse and maritime books, Jim Gibbs was stationed on Tillamook Rock as a young Coast Guardsmen, wrote: “Although plumbing had come to Tillamook Rock when I served there in the 1940’s, the old brick outhouse remained and was usable when the indoor privy was plugged up. The outhouse was in a very exposed location virtually hanging over the edge of the Rock on the north side. A wind tunnel whipped upwards through the exit hole and afforded quite an experience when in use. Talk about air conditioning! I can see why they finally got indoor plumbing.”
In his book “Tillamook Light” Jim writes about snitching green apples, resulting in “the green apple two-step.” He ran to the toilet only to find it occupied with a keeper with a reputation for long sittings. He writes: “No other alternative remained but to make a dash for the original 1881 “Chic Sales” privy that clung on the precipice of the rock like a limpet, 90 feet directly over the ocean. The wind was howling but I dashed inside and plunged myself down. A 40-mile an hour updraft erupted, virtually lifting me off the hole. The whirling dervish was like nothing before that I had felt on my hind side, nor ever hope to feel again. For reasons unknown, my problem ended and the urge was gone – however I would certainly not recommend such a cure for a family medical book. I get a shaky feeling every time someone mentions the word, windtunnel.”
As modern plumbing came along, even out on lighthouses, life was made more comfortable for the crews.
Those old privies and outhouses would be a nightmare for the Environmental Protection Agency but no one seemed to worry about the purity of the water in those days.
Imagine, an outhouse hanging over one side of the lighthouse, and fresh water being brought up on the other. It’s amazing the crews stayed well. Or did all that bacteria just make them tougher?
This story appeared in the
November 2008 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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