30 Mar Clarke House Museum > Upcoming Events > FREE LECTURE: Unearthing Chicago

on tuesday night i will be giving a talk revolving around the discovery of privy pits or “vaults” with an emphasis on what was found at the john kent russell house site, long after the salvage and/or demolition of the house was completed.

 based on the recovery of a substantial amount of remnants used to build the john kent russell house wood-lined privy pit and larger cesspool (found months later during complete excavation of the lot in preparation for new housing), i will address the construction methodology and materials since virtually no intact and/or circular-shaped privy “vault” with a floor has been documented in chicago. 

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