The Two-Story Outhouse is a major historic land mark and local icon located in Cedar Lake, Michigan.

SOME HISTORY: This facility was built just a stones throw from the Cedar Lake Depot for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad tracks in the lumbering boom town of Cedar Lake, Michigan. A local mill was located about 1/2 mile north near the lake. This was an important stop along the route allowing passengers the much needed break, and served a profitable loading point for the active lumber mill.

Since 1875, many have passed by this uncommon outhouse and snickered or sneered at its unusual design. Others marveled at the clever functional design. Most curiously questioned how it could function and what it must be like to use the lower level when there is activity on the upper floor. The unusual multi-level outhouse was attached to a main building originally built in 1875 by a footbridge (which collapsed in 1950). It featured a four-hole per floor design allowing users the opportunity to... choose. We all know what an outhouse used for, but who built this one in this unique manor and why - to what purpose...

It is unknown why the multi-story restroom was built but there are 2 theories.

1. The first is that the outhouse was connected to a hotel or boarding house, and was built to marvel guests with its upper floor convenience.
2. The second is that the original owner William Nelson built it this way to keep his wife and seven daughters separate from the lumberjacks and other customers on the bottom level of their house where the general store was located.

HOW DID IT WORK: Although there has been much speculation, and probably a lot of kidding around, the design is quite simple. The rear of the two rooms are offset, allowing the upper floor waste to drop behind a wall behind those on the lower floor. It must have been a little disturbing to be on the lower floor when someone was using the upstairs.

DISREPAIR: Unfortunately the home/store that this sanitary structure was connected to was destroyed by fire in 2014. Fortunately for history, the outhouse survived. However, the years had taken a toll on the outhouse. A nearby spring eroded soil on one side causing the outhouse to lean, and much of wood in the lower level were weakened, moldy, and rotting from age and years of use as a chicken coop. The outhouse was in danger of falling down or toppling over.

PRESERVATION EFFORTS: In 2017, a local couple bought the land and begin restorative work. The wife had lived in the home connected to the two-story outhouse when she was a child. Additional soil was brought in to raise the overall area and repair erosion, and to provide an area for parking. A new foundation was built in a central location on the property about 60 feet from the original location. A new lower level was built to replace the portions that were structurally unsound using as many of the old boards as possible. Professionals then worked to move the original upper floor of the outhouse to the new location and to reattach it to the new foundation and lower level. A new roof, doors, and siding were added to protect and preserve the original structure. The newly restored two-story outhouse preserves the original structure as a local piece of history for curious future generations.

FUTURE PLANS: The family preserving the towering toilet have plans to put in a parking lot, install signage with original photographs and to make it publicly available for visitors to stop and learn about this historic privy. Windows will be installed on the lower level to allow visitors to peek inside to see and imagine what it must have been like to experience this turn-of-the century double-decker wonder, particularly on a freezing Michigan winter's night. No, visitors will not be able to use the facility as an active latrine, and who would want to now with the new windows installed.

This landmark is located directly next to the popular Fred Meijer Heartland Trail which is a 42-mile long paved trail which connects the cities of Alma and Greenville.