HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-11-13 PACKET 08.A.Unearthed: History restored under Old Cottage Grove outhouse I SWC Bulletin
Unearthed: History restored under Old Cottage Grove
outhouse
By Katie Nelson on Oct 29, 2018 at 4:00 p.m.
COTTAGE GROVE — Trash to treasure doesn't even begin to cover this one.
Around two years ago, a metal detectorist out of Washington County reached out to Wayne and Angie Butt. Soon after,
he came out to their historic home and their other property, the Historic John P. Furber Farm, where a myriad of old coins
and toys were found.
When he called again this fall with another "historian" in tow, they had a different project in mind. The pair — a metal
detector enthusiast and "privy archeologist" — explored the ground beneath the historic home's outhouse.
The home where Wayne and Angie Butt live in Old Cottage Grove at one time was owned by John P. Furber and then by
Dr. Arthur H. Stein. The historic home was built long before modern plumbing and trash collection systems.
"If anything broke in the house, they would just throw it in the privy hole and move on," Wayne Butt said.
The outhouse pit was dug around the backside of the house, and contained with a wooden border about 7 to 10 -feet
deep. Plenty of early Cottage Grove history was unearthed from the hole.
Items, both broken and intact, dated mostly between the 1880s and 1930s, ranged from old medicine bottles, plates
originating from Austria and China, Mason jars, and fine crystal.
Most of the finds were wholly unexpected. Butt said he imagined finding old wedding bands in the dig, as it's anecdotally
easy to slip and drop one in modern plumbing. Though none were found — or any jewelry, for that matter — he was
stunned to find ink bottles and full bottles of sewing machine oil.
Though there wasn't any jewelry, the doctor's wealth was still clear as a number of the discarded dishes were gilded with
patterns of gold.
Butt said he plans to scrub, sanitize and patch a few of the finds to put on display, including a cracked crystalline butter
dish.
The strangest twist of discoveries may have been the plethora of seeds held in the wood -walled outhouse hole.
The seeds, which aren't digested in human bodies, will be tested for their germination potential and grown by the
diggers.
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11/8/2018 Unearthed: History restored under Old Cottage Grove outhouse I SWC Bulletin
Butt said he most looks forward to testing out the 1880s -vintage tomatoes.
Though the couple has lived in the house for some time, the connection to its old inhabitants felt stronger than ever after
the new discoveries.
Butt imagines making chili and salsa using the tomatoes, standing in the same kitchen the Stein family would have while
preparing the same vintage variety.
Some of the items, Butt said, could also have been handed down through the Stein family.
"Now we have some hand-me-downs to pass down to our family," he said.
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