Museum & Gardens

Program A: Waste & Water at Point Ellice House

Updated January 2021

Note: There is a powerpoint slideshow file that accompanies this package which you can use in conjunction with or instead of the provided worksheets.

Program Outline General Description

Program Title: Waste & Water at Point Ellice House

Target Grades: 1 through 5

Location Addressed: Point Ellice House, Victoria, British Columbia

Time Period Addressed: 1870s–1920s

Links to Curriculum Content:

● Relationships between a community and its environment ● How people’s needs and wants are met in communities ● Local (Victoria) and colonial settler history

Recommended Program Time: 50–80 minutes. For the youngest grades, we strongly recommend working on a single activity in a session, rather than completing all three at once. Historical Context

Point Ellice House was built in 1862, and no flush toilet existed on the property until at least the 1880s. Residents would use commodes, privies (outhouses), or chamber pots to go to the bathroom. The first flush toilets came to North America only in the late 1800s. A municipal water supply did not come to Victoria until the 1870s.

Commodes and chamber pots were used primarily at night and emptied into the pits of the privies in the morning. The O’Reillys were a wealthy family and employed servants, so this would have been the work of the chambermaid. The privy pits would eventually fill up. It was the job of private businessmen called scavengers to empty them. This job was done at night because of the foul smell.

There was a well on the property that was used to get water until city water pipes were extended to the house in 1876. This cost Peter O’Reilly the equivalent of about $10,000, which he split with a neighbour.

To wash, water would be heated and poured into wash basins or free-standing tubs. Daily washing routines were done with a sponge or cloth dipped into hot water, instead of fully-submerged baths or showers like we take today. At some point (date uncertain), the O’Reillys had a range boiler installed in the kitchen, connected to the wood-burning kitchen stove, which was used to supply hot water. This was not common for most families at the time, but the O’Reillys could afford this luxury as a wealthy family. Eventually, the family had a conventional bathtub installed in the

Program Outline bathroom (you can see it in the photo of that room), which connected to water pipes.

The residents of Point Ellice House had a soak pit for their wastewater (from slop buckets and washing, never from chamber pots). A soak pit is a covered, porous-walled chamber lined with gravel and/or rocks, which allows greywater to filter through the soil and be reclaimed into groundwater supply. Domestic soak pits, like the one that the O’Reillys had at Point Ellice House, were used to filter wastewater from tasks including laundry, dishes, bathing, etc., and excluding toilet usage. The soak pit is filled with gravel and rocks, which help the pit to retain its structure and shape while allowing water to filter through. As water is absorbed into the soil, small particles are filtered out and micro-organisms break down organic materials left in the water.

Soak pits are best suited to soils with good absorptive properties; clay, hard packed or rocky soils are not appropriate. They are not appropriate for areas that are prone to flooding or have high groundwater tables.

Program Outline Program Components

Activity 1: Bathrooms Now and Then

Description: Students will explore the bathroom of Point Ellice House through artifacts and photographs and contrast it to their own at home.

Recommended Time: 2 0–30 minutes

Purpose: To get students thinking about waste and water in their daily lives versus how things would have been done at PEH (Late 1800s-Early 1900s).

Brief Outline: Students answer questions about and draw a picture of their own bathrooms. Then, students are shown six artifacts from the PEH collection and are asked to guess their functions. Finally, they look at photos of the PEH bathroom and washstands and are asked to observe and note any differences from their own.

Activity 2: Morning Wash-up

Description: Students are introduced to a washstand set from the PEH collection.

Recommended Time: 1 5–20 minutes

Purpose: To introduce students to the items used (in place of our modern baths and showers) to wash up at PEH.

Brief Outline: Students are shown a set of washstand items from the collection, with their names. They are asked to work through a personal hygiene routine and decide which items from the set might help them do each task (such as washing their face or brushing their teeth).

Activity 3: Getting Rid of Waste and Water

Description: Students are introduced to the concept that our wastewater (and bathroom waste) needs to be dealt with somehow, as it did in the past.

Recommended Time: 2 0–30 minutes

Purpose: To get students thinking about where their water and waste end up and contrast it with where the people of PEH disposed of their wastewater.

Brief Outline: Students are asked to consider where wastewater goes today, and are shown how the residents of PEH disposed of theirs. Then, students are asked to decide if the wastewater from certain tasks would have gone into the soak pit, or the pit toilet at PEH.

Program Outline Further Resources

You can view or show your class a short video about the work of scavengers in Victoria using the following link:

https://youtu.be/vMrw5gDHo1g

You can view a 360 degree image of the PEH bathroom and scullery with these links.

Bathroom: https://www.facebook.com/PointElliceHouse/photos/a.2918301481551353/29183 10844883750/?type=3&theater

Scullery: https://www.facebook.com/PointElliceHouse/photos/a.2918301481551353/29183 10708217097/?type=3&theater

If you want to explore places in the Capital Regional District (Victoria and area) connected to the history of water and waste, we have created an interactive map with images and stories here:

https://pointellicehouse.com/springs-scavengers-interactive-map/

Waste & Water at Point Ellice House

STUDENT WORKSHEETS

Waste & Water at Point Ellice House Activity: Bathrooms Now and Then In the space below, draw a picture of your own bathroom at home.

List what you think is important in your bathroom:

1 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House How do you do these things at home? Is there an object that helps you do it?

Brush your teeth:

Wash your face:

Take a bath:

Go to the bathroom:

Do these have anything in common?

2 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House Now let’s take a look at some bathroom items from Point Ellice House.

What do you think these objects are? What were they used for?

PEH1975.001.616

PEH1975.001.3094

PEH1975.001.3241

3 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House

PEH1975.001.1796

PEH1975.001.377

PEH1975.001.604a

4 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House POINT ELLICE HOUSE BATHROOM & BEDROOM WASH STANDS

5 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House

6 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House

7 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House

8 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House What do you notice about these photos? Does anything stand out to you?

Do you think there is anything missing?

9 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House Activity: Morning Wash-up!

10 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House Decide which item to use to help you do these things:

1. It is the middle of the night and you have to go to the bathroom. You have no flush toilet and the privy is outside! Where do you go?

2. You wake up in the morning and want to brush your teeth. Where is your toothbrush?

3. Next, you need to wash your face. How do you get water to do this and where do you put it?

4. Now that you have your water, what do you use to clean yourself?

5. You now need to get rid of the water you used to wash up. Where do you put it?

11 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House Activity: Getting Rid of Waste and Water

We use water to help us do all these activities.

Where does the used water go after you do these things?

Brush your teeth:

Wash your face:

Take a bath:

Go to the bathroom:

12 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House Today, most of our waste water goes down our drains! Cities and towns usually have systems in place to treat wastewater from our drains before it mixes with clean water.

What do you think we would do with the water if we didn’t have drains?

13 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House The residents at Point Ellice House had a soak pit for their used water.

14 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House

The pipe in the photo was connected to a sink in the scullery (a washing room). Used water (from slop buckets) would be emptied into this sink and filter out through the soak pit outside. The soak pit, filled with rocks and gravel, filtered the water as it soaked back into the ground. Tiny organisms would break down the filtered out material.

15 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House

But what about chamber pots? Those shouldn’t be emptied into the sink!

Why do you think it is important to keep what’s in the chamber pots out of the sink?

Where do you think people emptied their chamber pots (from going to the bathroom)?

16 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House

Point Ellice House did not have flush toilets (like we do now) until the 1880s. Instead, the O’Reillys used their chamber pots, commodes, or pit toilets (what we might call an outhouse today).

Used chamber pots and commode pots would be emptied into these pit toilets.

PEH Carriage House pit toilet entrance. Other names for pit toilets include: earth closets or privvies.

When these pits filled up, the family paid businessmen called “scavengers” to come and empty them with their horse and cart. Scavengers worked at night because their work was very smelly.

17 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House

18 Waste & Water at Point Ellice House

Decide where the waste/water from each task below would end up, in the soak pit or taken away by a scavenger?

1. Washing your clothes

2. Brushing your teeth

3. Going to the bathroom

4. Washing your face

5. Washing the dishes

What are some other tasks you do that make wastewater?

Where do you think your used water ends up?

What might happen if we dumped our wastewater just anywhere?

Waste & Water at Point Ellice House

STUDENT WORKSHEETS (TEACHER COPY)

TEACHER COPY

Activity: Bathrooms Now and Then (20-30 minutes)

Note for Teachers:

The purpose of this activity is to get students thinking about waste and water in their daily lives (2020) versus how things would have been done at PEH (Late 1800s-Early 1900s).

In the space below, draw a picture of your own bathroom at home.

List what you think is important in your bathroom:

Students might answer this section with things like: the sink, bathtub/shower, toilet, etc.

1 TEACHER COPY

How do you do these things at home? Is there an object that helps you do it?

Brush your teeth:

Toothbrush, toothpaste, sink

Wash your face:

Cloth, sink

Take a bath:

Bathtub, soap, towel

Go to the bathroom:

Toilet, toilet paper

Do these have anything in common?

These tasks all rely on water

Note for Teachers:

The intent of this section is to introduce students to the idea that water is central to our lives, especially when it comes to the bathroom. This was also true for life at Point Ellice House, but getting water and using the bathroom was a much different experience there than it is for us today.

2 TEACHER COPY

Now let’s take a look at some bathroom items from Point Ellice House.

What do you think these objects are? What were they used for?

Note for Teachers:

This activity uses artifacts from the PEH collection. There are some that are probably familiar to students, while others might be unknown to them.

Chamber pot

Used to go to the bathroom, usually at night, would have been kept under the bed, in a container with a cover, or in a washstand. PEH1975.001.616

Water Filter “Silex” brand charcoal water filter. Water would be poured over the top of the device and be filtered through the center charcoal piece as it passed into the bottom. The carbon filter helped absorb impurities improving the odour and taste of the water.

PEH1975.001.3094

Oak commode with a porcelain pot

Used much like the chamber pot, except it would have been located in the bathroom as opposed to under the bed. The pot would have been emptied into a privy (outhouse) pit.

PEH1975.001.3241

3 TEACHER COPY

Hot Water Can

This black metal can would have been used to carry hot water to the wash stands that each member of the O'Reilly family had in their living quarters.

PEH1975.001.1796

Slop Bucket Acted as a receptacle for grey water (like from brushing teeth or washing your face). These buckets were used to carry water to where it was disposed of in a soak pit. Chamber pots were never emptied into slop buckets, but would instead be emptied into a privy.

PEH1975.001.377

Wash Basin

During the Victorian era, people seldom washed themselves by fully submerging in a tub of water. Instead they would have used washbasins such as this one to clean themselves with a cloth or sponge.

PEH1975.001.604a

4 TEACHER COPY

POINT ELLICE HOUSE BATHROOM & BEDROOM WASH STANDS

Note for Teachers:

Photos of the bathroom and wash stands as they are staged for viewing in 2020 follow. Use these photos to stimulate a discussion about the difference between our modern hygiene routines and those of the past.

5 TEACHER COPY

6 TEACHER COPY

7 TEACHER COPY

8 TEACHER COPY

What do you notice about these pictures? D oes anything stand out to you?

Students should record their observations about the photos here.

Do you think there is anything missing?

There is no toilet!

Note for Teachers:

We recommend you use the photos of artifacts in this section as an opportunity to briefly discuss the idea that bathroom and hygiene routines have changed as technology has improved.

Historical Context:

To wash, water would be heated and poured into wash basins or free-standing tubs. Daily washing routines were done with a sponge or cloth dipped into hot water, instead of fully-submerged baths or showers like we take today. At some point (date uncertain), the O’Reillys had a range boiler installed in the kitchen, connected to the wood-burning kitchen stove, which was used to supply hot water. Eventually, the family had a conventional bathtub installed in the bathroom (you can see it in the photo of that room), which connected to water pipes.

9 TEACHER COPY

Activity: Morning Wash-up! (15-20 minutes)

10 TEACHER COPY

Decide which item to use to help you do these things:

1. It is the middle of the night and you have to go to the bathroom. You have no flush toilet and the privy is outside! Where do you go?

You use G, the chamber pot. It is usually stored underneath your bed with a cover on it to contain the smell. You (or a servant, if you are wealthy) empty it in the morning into the privy (outhouse) pit.

2. You wake up in the morning and want to brush your teeth. Where is your toothbrush?

You can find your toothbrush in E, the toothbrush holder. Instead of a tube of toothpaste, you have a cleaning powder that turns to a paste as it mixes with your saliva. When you are done, you spit into the slop bucket.

3. Next, you need to wash your face. How do you get water to do this and where do you put it?

You use D, the ewer, to bring hot water to your washstand (if you are wealthy, a servant does this for you). You pour the hot water into C, the wash basin.

4. Now that you have your water, what do you use to clean yourself?

You use a bar of soap from A, the soap dish, and a sponge that sits in B, the sponge dish to clean yourself. This is your daily washing routine, and you rarely take baths. You have probably never used a shower.

5. You now need to get rid of the water you used to wash up. Where do you put it?

The water from washing up and brushing your teeth all goes into F , the slop bucket. Be sure to never empty your chamber pot into the slop bucket, though!

11 TEACHER COPY

Activity: Getting Rid of Waste and Water (20-30 minutes)

Note for Teachers:

The purpose of this activity is to get students thinking about where the water they use ends up and contrast it with where the people of PEH disposed of their wastewater.

We use water to help us do all these activities.

Where does the used water go after you do these things?

Brush your teeth:

It goes down the drain

Wash your face:

It goes down the drain

Take a bath:

It goes down the drain

Go to the bathroom:

It also goes down the drain! Specifically the toilet.

12 TEACHER COPY

Today, most of our wastewater goes down our drains! Cities and towns usually have systems in place to treat wastewater from our drains before it mixes with clean water.

What do you think we would do with wastewater if we didn’t have drains?

This question will get students thinking about how things might have been done in the past before Victoria (or other places) had a municipal sewage/water drainage system.

Note for Teachers:

13 TEACHER COPY

The residents at Point Ellice House had a soak pit for their used water.

14 TEACHER COPY

15 TEACHER COPY

But what about chamber pots? Those shouldn’t be emptied into the sink!

Why do you think it is important to keep what’s in the chamber pots out of the sink?

Chamber pots contain excrement and urine, which can contaminate water if they are mixed.

Where do you think people emptied their chamber pots (from going to the bathroom)?

Students should record their thoughts here.

16 TEACHER COPY

Point Ellice House did not have flush toilets like we do now until the 1880s. Instead, the O’Reillys used their chamber pots, commodes, or pit toilets (what we might call an outhouse today).

Used chamber pots and commode pots would be emptied into these pit toilets.

PEH Carriage House pit toilet entrance. Other names for pit toilets include: earth closets or privvies.

When these pits filled up, the family paid businessmen called “scavengers” to come and empty them with their horse and cart. Scavengers worked at night because their work was very smelly.

17 TEACHER COPY

18 TEACHER COPY

Decide where the waste/water from each task below would end up, in the soak pit or taken away by a scavenger?

1. Washing your clothes

Slop bucket->scullery sink->soak pit

2. Brushing your teeth

Slop bucket->scullery sink->soak pit

3. Going to the bathroom

Chamber pot->pit toilet->taken away by a scavenger

4. Washing your face

Slop bucket->scullery sink->soak pit

5. Washing the dishes

Slop bucket->scullery sink->soak pit

What are some other tasks you do that make wastewater?

Baths, showers, cleaning the floors, etc.

Where do you think your used water ends up?

In the ocean, rivers, etc.

What might happen if we dumped our wastewater just anywhere?

We might harm the environment and pollute waterways, etc.

Note for Teachers:

We hope that this program can help students begin thinking about where their water comes from and where people from the past got theirs. We encourage you to continue this discussion with your students in the classroom, beyond these activities. Consider a visit to Point Ellice House sometime.