This week we are looking at an often overlooked part of our ancestors’ lives: a sewage map. This map shows the network of sewage pipes in Tilburg in 1870.
Sewage map of Tilburg, 1870. Credits: Regionaal Archief Tilburg
In the 1800s, many municipalities undertook works to improve public health. The cholera outbreak of the 1860s and the discovery of the role of water contamination by raw sewage led to installation of sewage systems all over the country.
The Tilburg map shows that by 1870, sewage pipes ran through large parts of the center, though that does not mean all huses were hooked up. Few houses outside the village center would have been connected to the sewage system.
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That’s a very cool map…I swear I could spend my research time just looking at old maps – they’re so fascinating.