Adopt an Outhouse

Most children who tour our museum want to know about the practicalities of life--where did people go to the bathroom; what did they eat; how hard did they work? The answers to these questions are often hidden within the small and seemingly insignificant outbuildings associated with the “grander” houses that museums often feature. Here at the Eastern Carolina Village and Farm Museum, our interpretation of farm life between 1840 and 1940 focuses on the realities of the hard lives endured by many trying to make a living in the rural countryside. We need YOUR HELP to tell this story well. We have a unique collection of outbuildings associated with the Savage House, a rural farmer’s home from around 1855.
The outbuildings include an outhouse (a two-seater from the early 1900s), a milk house (1910) to keep dairy products cool, a pigeon house (1920) to ensure a ready supply of food, and a log corn crib (1858). As you can see from the photos, these small building are in poor repair. The sad reality is that most funding agencies are not interested in sponsoring their restoration. That is why we need YOUR help to do so.


Unfortunately, a tree limb fell on the outhouse during Hurricane Matthew. The pigeon and milk houses have suffered from lack of maintenance. The corn crib is leaking water due to a failing roof and the loss of chinking between the logs. We estimate the cost to restore these small buildings at $5500.00 and if we wait much longer to do so, we risk losing the buildings altogether.

Please help us keep these small buildings by making a donation today. Any amount is helpful, but you can ADOPT one of these buildings with a donation of $1000.00. Specify the building you wish to adopt with the donation and include your name for the plaque that will be placed on it indicating sponsorship of the restoration. After all, not many people can say they adopted an out house or a pigeon house!

Your gifts today are tax deductible and can help us meet our mission of preserving and interpreting our architectural and agricultural heritage and educating the younger generation about the history of our region. We welcome you to visit our living history museum, located at 4570 County Home Road in Greenville, NC, or visit our web site at www.eastcarolinavillage.org and our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ecvillageandfarmmuseum/