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.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
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.
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.
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A fun link. Far out!
ReplyDeleteWell, I suppose a two floor outhouse makes a certain amount of sense :-) Definitely very cool it's been preserved for posterity (no pun intended *g*)
ReplyDeleteLOL - that was bad! Funny though :)
ReplyDelete