Structure 5 first appears on the engraving titled View of the University of Virginia taken from the South Side, published by Casimir Bohn in 1856 with various windows and no door on its eastern wall. In 1859, the Executive Committee of the Board of Visitors reported that a smokehouse was constructed for Professor Lewis M. Coleman, then the resident of Pavilion VI^[1]. Structure 5 was initially believed to be said smokehouse. The Anonymous 1870s map shows a drain line departing from the location of Structure 5, although the structure itself is not depicted. A drain line is necessary for smokehouses as water is drawn out from the meat using salt during the meat-smoking process.

The excavation conducted by Rivanna Archaeological Services in 2008 was able to find the foundation wall but failed to find any cultural artifacts due to the site’s limitations. Further excavations by Rivanna Archaeological Services in 2020 uncovered more of Structure 5's foundation, and along with the discovery of a circa 1890s photograph in Special Collections, it is now believed Structure 5 was actually a privy. It is unclear when Structure 5 was demolished.