Have you ever seen a 5-Holer Outhouse? This one was built in the 1800's...

     I get Emails from time to time with pictures of Outhouses from the many visitors to my web site called The Outhouses of America Tour. It's really pretty cool if you think about it. How many people do you know who get Emails with pictures of Outhouses?
     Well, this guy in Connecticut sent an Email with several pictures of his very unusual 5-Holer Outhouse that is on his property. Take a look and read his story about the Outhouse...

Inside the 5-Holer (Notice the different hole sizes!)

Close up of the 3 Holes

The other 2 holes

Back side of the 5-Holer

One side of the 5-Holer

The ceiling needs a bit of repair

     He's been researching 5-Holer Outhouses for a while and has yet to come across a five holer!  The previous owners tried to match the inside of the outhouse with the house on the property. This outhouse has plaster walls, a nice window and trim similar to parts of his house.
     The original part of his home was built in 1785. His house is actually called the five chimney house.  It has granite hearth fireplaces in every room plus a bee hive oven in the basement.  It's odd because every house around his built at that time was center chimney. When you walk in his front door, there is a huge foyer with a archway and 4 rooms off that with the fireplaces. He knows that the original owner was a sheep herder and he owned all the property on his road. He's thinking the sheep herder had this extra detail in the house and a five hole outhouse for all his clients that came to purchase the wool. The house and the outhouse are not typical of what you would usually see especially being a farmhouse.
     The outhouse needs a little work to be complete. It has had a partial renovation. The exterior is in about prefect shape. It just needs some clapboards in the front and a door. He does have doors left over from his house restoration that would fit. Some doors still have the orginal hardware. He would offer a door with the purchase of the 5-holer. The inside needs to have the plaster fixed. The one picture shows that above. It also has to be sanded and stained. Besides that it's ready to go.
     Thomas has a boom truck that can load the building onto a trailer. The exterior dimensions are about 77 x84 inches wide and 10 ft to the roof peak. He estimates it weighs around 1200 pounds.
     He is asking $2500 or best offer. He's a reasonable person and will listen to any reasonable offer. It's located in GRISWOLD, CT and he can be reached at 860-334-1927.
     We think it's a pretty sweet deal so if you want to really open some eyes in your neighborhood, contact Thomas!

Outhouses found in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota

     As some of you know, I take a lot of pictures and many of those pictures are taken of Outhouses, which are rapidly disappearing across the country. There is an Outhouse Preservation Society but since I run the Outhouses of America Tour web site, it is only fitting that I share some of my most recent finds while on a trip to Minnesota.
     Our first stop was in Mackinac City, MI and while on a walk near the harbor I discovered a picturesque scene of Porta-Johns (Outhouses) with a Coast Guard ship in the background.

Mackinac City, MI

     In case you want to see what the ship really looks like up close, here you go!

Coast Guard Ship in Mackinac City, MI

     We stayed in Mackinac City and I went to a local watering hole to cool down with a cold one. I looked up as I sat at the bar and saw this hanging! The bar had won 1st Place in the first annual winter Outhouse Races held in 2013 and this was the prize.

1st Place Trophy in the Outhouse Races

      As we drove across the UP (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan, I pointed out to my passenger all the Outhouses that I had already documented through pictures on my web site.
     As we were passing through Escanaba, MI (Yes there really is Escanaba in the moonlight), we saw a waterfall and near it was this really nice Outhouse. It was so nice inside. It smelled like freshly sawed wood. The kicker was the toilet seat. It actually closed on its own!

Escanaba, MI Waterfall

 

Escanaba, MI

Self Closing Toilet Seat

Self Closing Toilet Seat

As we drove across Wisconsin, we came into the small town of Mountain and discovered this Outhouse in a roadside park. I have a policy that when I find a working Outhouse, I use it. Some day these will all be gone so I want tell stories some day about how I used to find Outhouses and I actually used them. This particular Outhouse did not get high marks. It was a little dirty and nasty inside as the pictures show.

 

Mountain, WI

Mountain, WI

Nastiness Inside this one

     I wandered a bit to look at an old log cabin and found a gem of an Outhouse. I was able to take a picture of the inside and it was pretty interesting. That's me posing near it.

Mountain, WI Log Cabin and Outhouse

Mountain, WI Outhouse

Inside the Mountain, WI Outhouse

Mountain, WI Outhouse

Me by the Mountain, WI Outhouse

     Driving further along the highway, we saw a schoolhouse. No wait! It was the Schoolhouse Bar and it had a great statement on the front: "It's Time for Recess"!

It's Time For Recess!

      A little further up the road I saw an old schoolhouse near Mole Lake, WI and I thought I saw something hidden by weeds. Long ago, all schoolhouses and churches for that matter had Outhouses in the back. Schools typically had one for the boys and one for the girls located in opposite sides of the yard. This one was a real rare find. The Outhouses were still there but in bad shape. I confirmed they were Outhouses by looking in the door on one of them.

One Room Schoolhouse Outhouse

In the distance you can see the other Outhouse

One Room Schoolhouse Outhouse

One Room Schoolhouse Outhouse

Look closely and you will see two Outhouses

     Driving on for a while brought us to an old cemetery and there was a Porta-John that had an interesting name and view if you sat inside. Naturally, I had to use this one too.

Strange Name

Right next to the dumpster

View from the Porta-John

          In Stillwater, MN, they were restoring the Minnesota Zephyr locomotives. In the background I happened to catch a couple of Porta-Johns!

Minnesota Zephyr Locomotive

Minnesota Zephyr Locomotive

          On the way back through Wisconsin, I spotted this Outhouse in someone's back yard. It looked like it would be a good one so I turned around and took these pictures. The people were home and I thought any minute I would hear a shotgun blast or a couple of mean dogs would come running but nothing happened. Isn't this one a beauty?

Outhouse somewhere in Wisconsin

Outhouse somewhere in Wisconsin

Outhouse somewhere in Wisconsin

Outhouse somewhere in Wisconsin

Outhouse somewhere in Wisconsin

Outhouse somewhere in Wisconsin

     And so this brings us to the conclusion of tonight's blog about Outhouses found on a recent trip from Michigan to Minnesota. I hope you enjoyed the blog and the most recent addition to the Outhouses of America Tour!

Retracing Our Past Through Travel - Day Three

     Today was a very long day of driving but we managed to see some sights along the way as well. The first stop of the day was at Schloegel's Bay View Restaurant in Menominee, MI. Why? They have the best potato pancakes. Only my Mother-in-Law makes better potato pancakes! Here's a picture of the perfect pancakes...

 

Potato Pancakes

     After breakfast it was off to Minnesota. We drove the back roads all the way and the roads were perfect, unlike the terrible roads around Detroit. As we were driving, we came across quite a few interesting outhouses. A few are shown below.

 

His and Hers Outhouse located near Mountain, WI

     Of course, I had to use the Outhouse and this one had a lot of not so nice writing on the walls. At the same location was an old cabin with a sign on the front "Mountain Log Home Museum". As I took a picture of it I noticed what looked like another old outhouse behind it. Sure enough, it was! Here it is...

Old Outhouse in Mountain, WI

  

 Inside the Old Outhouse

     Driving further West we saw this oddly named bar.

The Schoolhouse Bar - "It's Time for Recess"

    We started driving again and a short time later, we approached Pickerel, Mole Lake and Crandon. We passed an old schoolhouse and I thought I saw something almost completely hidden by large weeds. I turned around to investigate and it was a real find. Almost hidden by tall weeds was a very old outhouse with an unusual pointed roof. I looked around and way on the other side of the school yard was ANOTHER identical outhouse almost hidden by weeds. Back then, there would be an outhouse for the girls and one for the boys so that explains why there were two of them. Here's a picture of one of them.

 Schoolhouse Outhouse

     We began driving again. "Hey, that's a real nice graveyard...Oh, there's a Porta John and I have to go!". Another U-Turn and we stopped yet again. 

     About this time it was beginning to be a longer drive than we thought. I decided to only stop for an emergency. We made it to Stillwater, MN and then drove up to Marine on St. Croix, MN. My great great grandfather once owned the store in that small town so we went to see what was left. The store is still in business!

Marine General Store

     The store still has the original wooden floors and they creak as you walk on them. Next to the store is a museum. This town was really bustling in the day but as many lumber boom towns did, it almost went bust after the boom.

     Back in Stillwater, MN, we came across two of the old Zephyr locomotives that are being rebuilt. 

The Minnesota Zephyr

      My mom actually rode on the Zephyr train all the way to Washington D.C. a long time ago.

      Finally, to finish out the day, we stopped at Nacho Mama's restaurant and had way too much to eat. Here is what I had...a wet burrito filled with everything Mexican along with shredded chicken.

Nacho Mama's Wet Burrito

     Tomorrow is the big day when we bury our mom in SE Minnesota. It will be a very sad day for us. More to come...

Retracing Our Past Through Travel - Day Two

     Today we planned an easy day of travel so we covered around 250 miles from Mackinac City, Michigan to Marinette, Wisconsin. There are several reasons why we always stopped in Marinette on our trips to Minnesota; Food and Relatives.
     But first, let's update you on the clown car. Today I became a believer in the Toyota Prius. Look at this!

Our Mileage!

     As we drove, our mileage just kept going up until we peaked at 62.5 MPG. It only peaked there because we arrived at our destination but I firmly believe it would have gone up higher! Let me tell you two quick stories while at the gas pump. The first time we gassed up was yesterday and we waited and waited while the woman in front of us filled her car. Finally the pump in front of her opened up so I pulled in front of her and filled the Prius. 4.6 Gallons! We got in, drove away but stopped to fill out our car paperwork and when we looked back, she was STILL filling her car! The second story was today. We filled up again and it only took 4.5 gallons. A big Harley pulled in and I asked the guy what kind of mileage he got. He smiled and said 35 MPG. I smiled and said well, we're getting over 60 MPG in that car and then drove away leaving him staring at the car...LOL
     Keeping with tradition, if I see a usable Outhouse, I will stop and take a picture of it and use it. Here is the one we found today. It was actually clean and smelled like fresh wood. It also sported a toilet seat that closed itself slowly when you lowered it. Sweet!

The Self-Closing Toilet Seat

     This Outhouse was next to a waterfall. Here's that picture...

A View of The Waterfall

     Once in Marinette, we went to the city park where we used to camp and then on to the cemetery where our father is buried. His whole family is buried there as well. When we arrived, we noticed the graves had weeds growing in front. We cleaned them out, bought flowers and planted them in front of each family member. Here's my dad's before and after pic's...

 

Before

     Next on the list was food. For years we all went to Mickey Lu's BBQ for the best hamburgers in the world. Chuck Hennessy still owns the place and he still cooks the burgers on an open pit charcoal grill. Wow! They are great. Here's a video of Chuck grilling burgers. I don't think he has any hair left on his arms! 

     You can't get fries there but you can get Brats, Hot Dogs and Burgers. Today I tied my record and had 2 burgers and 3 double burgers! The best! 

     

Me in front of Mickey-Lu's

     Last on the agenda was to go to the park next door to our hotel to take in the first annual Rock Island Music Festival. There were quite a few bands that played and it was very entertaining.

Bridge to the Island

 The 1st Band Playing

 The 2nd Band Playing

     Finally, there are the coolest bronze action statues on the river. They depict a couple of boys having some swimming fun and I could just imagine my dad jumping off that rock to go for a swim. The boy below who is jumping is somehow attached to the rock but when you look at it, you wonder how in the world they attached a heavy bronze boy to the rock. Take a look below.

That could have been my dad years ago

     And so that ends day two of our journey. Tomorrow we will be heading to Stillwater, Minnesota. My gr. gr. grandfather and also my great grandfather ran a local brewery there and we plan to try and find where it was. See you tomorrow...