Outhouse Trivia: Why the Crescent Moon on the Door?
Ever wonder? We have the answer to this and other questions, plus outhouse facts and trivia!
Quick Reference: Outhouse Trivia
- The crescent Moon: not for ventilation. The most popular belief is it was a simple handle to open and close the door from the inside.
- Moon and star: one disputed story says the crescent Moon marked the women’s privy and a star marked the men’s. Both shapes meant the whole family.
- Typical size: 3 to 4 feet square by 7 feet high, no window and no heat.
- Distance from the house: usually 50 to 150 feet, often facing away to keep the odor at bay.
- Who built them: teams under Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (the WPA) built most rural outhouses.
- Another name: a “backhouse,” because it sat “out back.”
Picture grabbing a lantern and heading outside, no matter the season, the temperature, or the weather, to “take care of business.” That was daily life for many folks in Colonial times. A few outhouses are still standing and still in use today, but most of us now rely on the comforts of indoor plumbing. The little wooden building out back left behind more history and folklore than you might expect, so here are some fun facts and trivia about outhouses.
Holes In Outhouse Doors Weren’t For Ventilation
There are many theories on why holes were cut in outhouse doors and what the shape of the hole was meant to signify. The truth is that no single story explains every door, and the most repeated one may be the plainest of all.
One theory is that the holes in the doors of outhouses were designed to let light from a lantern shine out at night. This would alert everyone that the outhouse was occupied.
Another theory ties the shape to who used the privy. It was believed the reason for the hole was to differentiate which outhouse was for the men and which was for the women, although this is disputed. Supposedly, the women’s had a crescent Moon cut into its door and the men’s had a star. If there were both shapes? It was to be used by the whole family.
The more popular belief is that the crescent shape was simply a way to open and close the door from the inside, as it seemed using expensive latching hardware would be a waste on such a humble structure. Even when latches were added, the crescent Moon tradition lived on and is now a signature decoration for this piece of Americana. Folklorists and historians who have looked at surviving privy doors, summarized in the history of the outhouse, tend to treat the crescent as a decorative custom rather than a strict men-and-women code.
Outhouse Sizes Varied
Outhouses were usually 3 to 4 feet square by 7 feet high with no window or heat. A well-built outhouse usually had a vent along the roof to vent out the chamber and a pipe from the box through the ceiling to vent out the gases. To avoid the odor reaching the home, most outhouses were built between 50 and 150 feet from the main house, often facing away from the house. They had either one or two chamber holes inside, one for the adults and a smaller one for the children.
Outhouses Were Built By Teams
Teams of outhouse builders built most of the outhouses in rural areas during Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration, the WPA, which employed millions of out-of-work men. This project was not without its controversy, however, as its critics complained of wasteful government spending. Others praised the program for helping to create better standards of hygiene in these rural areas. You can read more about the agency in the National Archives records of the Work Projects Administration.
Outhouses Were Also Called “Backhouses”
Did you know: Outhouses were often referred to as “backhouses” because they were located “out back” from the main house. The privy went by plenty of other folksy names too, from the “necessary” to the “house of office,” and in farm country the trip out back was simply part of the daily rhythm of rural life.
Life Around The Outhouse
Before indoor plumbing, the walk out back shaped the whole homestead. Families set the outhouse downhill and downwind from the well so nothing seeped into the drinking water, which is part of why that 50 to 150 foot distance mattered as much for health as for the smell. In winter, the lantern that lit the way doubled as the “occupied” signal through the door’s cutout. Old catalogs and almanacs found a second life out there as reading material and, when the pages ran out, as the paper itself. It was humble, but it was a piece of everyday American know-how.
The same plain-spoken planning that kept a homestead running still shows up in the way the Farmers’ Almanac tracks the seasons. If you enjoy this kind of old-fashioned wisdom, our Best Days calendar carries the same tradition forward, our Gardening by the Moon calendar follows the crescent and the full Moon that the old privy doors borrowed, and our household remedies keep that make-do spirit alive in the kitchen.
Outhouse Trivia: Frequently Asked Questions
Why is there a crescent Moon on outhouse doors?
The most popular belief is that the crescent shape was simply a way to open and close the door from the inside, since expensive latching hardware seemed a waste on such a humble structure. Even after latches were added, the crescent Moon tradition lived on and became a signature decoration for this piece of Americana.
Did the Moon mean women and the star mean men?
That is one story, although it is disputed. Supposedly the women’s outhouse had a crescent Moon cut into its door and the men’s had a star, and if both shapes appeared, the privy was for the whole family. Most folklorists treat the crescent as decoration rather than a strict men-and-women code.
Were the holes in outhouse doors for ventilation?
No. One theory is that the holes let light from a lantern shine out at night so everyone knew the outhouse was occupied, and another tied the shape to who used the privy. The most popular explanation is that the cutout worked as a simple handle to open and close the door.
How big was a typical outhouse?
Outhouses were usually 3 to 4 feet square by 7 feet high, with no window and no heat. A well-built one had a vent along the roof and a pipe from the box through the ceiling to vent the gases, and many had one or two chamber holes inside, one for adults and a smaller one for children.
How far from the house was an outhouse built?
To keep the odor from reaching the home, most outhouses were built between 50 and 150 feet from the main house, often facing away from it. Families also set the privy downhill and downwind of the well so nothing could seep into the drinking water.
Why were outhouses called backhouses?
Outhouses were often called “backhouses” because they were located “out back” from the main house. The privy also went by names like the “necessary” and the “house of office.” Many rural outhouses were built by teams under Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration, the WPA, which employed millions of out-of-work men.
This article was published by the Staff at FarmersAlmanac.com. Any questions? Contact us at questions@farmersalmananac.com.
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
We live off grid and I have to say I prefer the outhouse, especially with Grandkids! No plugged toilets! We use cedar sawdust and surprisingly there is no bad odor. The top six inches is screened in so no insects get in, so is the ‘moon’. The weather is mild here so it’s not bad to use year round. It’s easy to clean and we keep solar light in a bucket near the door with another small bucket on the wall to put it in when you’re using the outhouse.
Yea I’m thinking about crawling into one for personal needs.
I remember going to the families farm in Berlin, Ky. seeing the ole outhouse [. Think it was a two seater
I found an old stained glass window in the chicken coop when I moved here. I couldn’t understand why anyone would put such a beautiful piece of art in between a stack of doors in the coop. A couple of ears ago the original owners stopped for a visit. They asked if the outhouse was still here. I said, “Yes.” They asked if the window was still in it. I said, “No.” Then the light bulb came on and I realized that is where the window came from. Must be someone was afraid it would get stolen when they weren’t there. It seems the original family never said they were going to the outhouse. They said they were going to church.
It doesn’t matter which way the T.P. rolls. Just so I don’t have to use newspaper to wipe like when I still lived on the farm.
There is a double-wide ‘house’ in the Saline Valley of California (next to Death Valley). There are two seats, one blue and one pink, next to each other. TP is supplied (if you bring it with you), but so also is a corn cob! And the door…there is none…it opens to the desert view (away from the camp area)…you can watch the jets from Edwards Air Base fly by…and see the smile on the pilot’s face!
We had one on our farm until the 60s when we finally got running water. But we also had to use one at school. I am one of six kids and we all went to the same country school, grades 1-8. There was a 2-holer for the boys and a 2-holer for the girls, not far from the barn where we tied up our horses we rode to school. They waited there all day for us.
When we needed to go to the “restroom” to wrote our name on the chalkboard, went outside and erased it when we came back. I don’t recall any extraordinary incidents, but who knows. The good old days!
Exactly the case with my grandparents’ farm here in North Dakota. They didn’t have indoor plumbing until the 60s, either.
This year for Christmas, because we can’t go see our relatives, my parents are taking me camping. The only bathroom at the campgrojnd is an OUTHOUSE! I’ve never used one and I’m scared to. I read that black widow spiders build webs under the seats, to catch all the flies that are attracted to… you know. How should I protect myself? I don’t want to get bit on the butt 🙁
Well I wouldnt want to get bit anywhere by one of them. However I think the camp grounds keeper sprays for spiders when the clean and supply the outhouse if not. Black widows are very 534 and and. Territoriald and dont like confrontation I’m sure so you will be alright .
There was no tp shortage; folks used the Sears catalog
We had a one-holer until the mid 50s with the usual catalogs for TP. I can remember it being moved to various places around the yard. Years later a lilac bush grew huge and tall like a tree and we realized the roots must have grown into an old pit which fertilized it. The following story however took place at a friend’s cabin with an outhouse. During a picnic where much beer was imbibed someone hollered that there was a snake down the hole. One fellow grabbed his shotgun. One blast killed the snake but caused an eruption of the contents of the pit. Took a while to get the outhouse and the guy cleaned up with much laughter. He never did live that down.
Betty, Oh my goodness! Thank you for sharing.