When I was looking for a home in this area, I came close to buying a place on 96 acres. The home was built in the 1700s. All the modern stuff was retrofitted. The light switches just free-floated in holes cut in the walls without being mounted in boxes. The bathroom was a small room attached to the outside of the house...you walked out the kitchen door into the yard, took a hard right, then went into the tiny bathroom. I loved the architecture, and really wanted all that land, but was not up to living like that. Lots of the churches around here still have their legacy outhouses standing.
My barnhouse had an outhouse at one time but I am not into going outside for that purpose especially in winter. I have an electric waterless toilet I can start up when using the place. But I do like the ability to live on nothing if I need to. I can go from electric to non electric without much effort. Just need to transfer all my books. Lamps, stove etc all there.
Well, let's face it... if the SHTF, disposing of body waste will be the easiest problem to deal with. All a person needs is a shovel--and not even that if they have enough land.
The country church that I grew up in still has outhouses and most of the other surrounding country churches in that area do too. Even though they have indoor bathrooms now, they are still functional outhouses. I have used outhouses many years ago. I am spoiled now. I hope I never have to use an outhouse again!!
Actually, if SHTF, all you need is a fan In the spirit of the topic, there would be 2 comments in this thread. Member A Peak: Today my SHTF. My timing was impeccable! Pit: I got caught. Member B Pit: Some jerk's $hit hit my fan! Peak: I caught the ba$tard. I think he posts here.
All this talk of outhouses has brought up thoughts of Primitive Baptist Churches. Has anyone encountered one? They used to be scattered around the southeast U.S. They had circuit preachers who served (generally) 4 churches and the churches only held services once a month but the services lasted all day and there was a picnic-style potluck meal for a lunch break. The church buildings had no plumbing, no central heat--a wood stove was often in the center of the sanctuary--and no electricity. I never attended one, but I spoke with people who did. I think the denomination has pretty much died out as nobody wants to deal with outhouses, and no water, heat, or electricity anymore even for one day a month.
I've not heard of these, but there were tent revival meetings in the northern Virginia area back in the 70s and 80s.
The primitive Baptists actually had church buildings, but because they had no utilities, they had little maintenance except for some painting.
My maternal grandmother is buried in a primitive Baptist church cemetery; the church is called Bethany Primitive Baptist and the cemetery is called Arabia. It is a unique white-sand cemetery; almost blinding white sand on a sunny day. https://vanishinggeorgia.com/2015/0...baptist-church-arabia-cemetery-clinch-county/
The link didn't work for me @Beth Gallagher but I am glad at least one person knows what I was taking about.
Interesting stuff. It's as different from "normal" cemeteries as above-ground mausoleums are. I was reading the description, and it said "The church and grounds are situated on a high bluff of Arabia Bay, which is actually a Carolina bay surrounded by an extensive swamp." I had never heard the term Carolina bay. WIKI says: Carolina bays are elliptical to circular depressions concentrated along the East Coast of the United States [Atlantic Coastal Plain] within coastal New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and north Florida. In Maryland, they are called Maryland basins. Within the Delmarva Peninsula, they and other coastal ponds are also called Delmarva bays. Apparently the first such depression was observed in South Carolina, and the "by association" name stuck through usage.
It is probably some antivirus stuff I have running. It says "unable to get a secure link" or something like that. I even tried it in several search engines and browsers and got the same thing.