Item contributed by Paul Revere House

Paul Revere served as the president of the Boston Board of Health in 1799 and 1800. This meant that he, along with other citizens, made decisions about the public’s health and well-being. This privy notice is an early example of the Board trying to keep the streets and homes of Boston clean. They didn’t fully understand how waste could make people sick, but they knew that being around it was not a good idea. Why do you think the Board of Health ordered people to empty out their privies during certain times of the year? (hint: think about Boston weather).

Glossary Terms:

• Privy—An outhouse or bathroom.
• Hogshead—The name for a specific size of barrel. A hogshead contains about 300 L (or about 79 US gallons).