Trackers

Out-of-town bottle hunters were spotted behind the Colfax Post Office Saturday, July 18, probing a specific spot along the alley by a residential flower garden.

Referring to 1880s fire insurance maps, the two men deciphered that an outhouse for a saloon/brothel was once there. By the late afternoon, they had pulled out nearly 300 bottles, all from the 1880s – mostly the less-prized unembossed bottles, along with five to ten embossed bottles. One of which was a cracked receptacle from "Hamilton Drugstore, Washington, TY." The "TY" stood for territory. Local collectors watched the dig. Overall, containers found were for beer, whiskey (pictured at right), medicine and Vaseline.