"The Water Was Let into the Pipes and Conveyed into the Town…": Wells, Chamber Pots, and Municipal Water in 19th Century Alexandria, VA
Author(s): Kara J Wheeler
Year: 2020
Summary
This is a poster submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.
Plumbing and sanitation were major health concerns for people during the 19th century. Inadequate sanitation practices caused an increased risk of disease and illness, especially in densely populated areas. Outbreaks of disease, such as the cholera outbreak in 1832, spread quickly, particularly in a port city such as Alexandria, VA where ships carrying goods might also be harboring disease. The establishment of the Alexandria Water Company gave access to clean water to many citizens of Alexandria. In 2018, multiple almost complete chamber pots were excavated from two wells on a private residence within the city. This poster explores the possible reason for these pots’ disposal using a variety of historic documents, including the water company records.
Cite this Record
"The Water Was Let into the Pipes and Conveyed into the Town…": Wells, Chamber Pots, and Municipal Water in 19th Century Alexandria, VA. Kara J Wheeler. 2020 ( tDAR id: 457380)
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
General
Municipal Water
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Plumbing
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Sanitation
Geographic Keywords
United States of America
Temporal Keywords
19th Century
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 439