Double Doody
Brittany McQueen
Issue date: 3/1/10 Section: Features
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Built in 1872, the outhouse sits just off Route 16. The small community takes great pride in their own tourist attraction, with a blue highway sign advertising the attraction, and any citizen of Gays would be more than willing to tell you the importance of the outhouse to their small town. The two-story outhouse puts the town of Gays on the map, giving it a status that not many towns their size in the central Illinois area have.
The outhouse was built for the town's general store, with the bottom level for patrons and the top level for the residents of the upstairs apartment. The two-story outhouse has been advertised by the town as a tourist attraction since the 1960s. The store was torn down in 1984, but the outhouse was preserved and kept in its original location.
One may wonder how something such as a two-story outhouse works. It would seem that gravity would not be an ally in situations such as these, but the original designers of the attraction have already thought of that. The upper- and lower-floor seats are staggered so that they are side by side, rather than one on top of the other, leaving the waste to drop out of sight behind a wall, but still able to be heard.
Today the outhouse serves as a gathering place for the town of Gays, with a bulletin board for announcements as well as a flagpole in honor of Gays resident and fallen soldier, Cole Spencer. The outhouse is kept locked to keep out unwanted patrons.
For years to come, past our generations, the citizens of Gays will continue to pass on this unusual landmark's history.
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