Reading the Past

Some Colorful Local History

This week my eyes are glazing over while proofreading the 60,000-word document that will become the greater part of May's Historical Novels Review. In the meantime, I thought I'd provide some entertainment by recounting a bit of local history. Gays, Illinois, 15 miles west of Charleston, is home to the oldest two-story outhouse in America (circa 1872), or so they claim. The photo is one I took in 2002, a week after we moved out here and wondered what the heck we'd gotten ourselves into.

This handy little building used to be attached to a general store, which had apartments on the second level, but the store was torn down long ago, and the citizens of Gays decided to retain the outhouse as a historic landmark. It's an official state tourist stop and comes complete with a road sign and historic marker. Should you admit to having curiosity about this "Roadside America" attraction, you can read more here.