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Writer's pictureZachary Taylor

"Along the Shore of Lake Agawam" and The Home of Pyrrhus Concer (1909)

Updated: Aug 26, 2022



This is a colorized postcard of the shore of Lake Agawam in Southampton, with the home of Pyrrhus Concer visible in the left-hand side of the photo.


The postcard itself is dated from 1909, with the automobile driving south on Pond Lane helping indicate the time period. The grass and foliage are rendered in the richest of green (with a few trees rendered a vermilion hue), while the weathering of the road from automobile use is visible. The light blue and white rendering of the clouds is also given careful attention, in order to punctuate the beauty of this photograph in a way that a simple black-and-white render could not.


The home of Pyrrhus Concer on Pond Lane is significant due to it being his final residence upon returning home from the California Gold Rush in 1850. At this point, Pyrrhus was a significant figure in Southampton's whaling history, taking part in expeditions beginning at the age of 18 years old and undertaking many more for years to come. It's at this property where Pyrrhus operated his own ferry business right on the lake, where he would take people across the body of water to the beach. The boat landing in the center is where his boat would have taken off, where he would also rent out row boats both per hour and per day. Pyrrhus would live here up until his death in 1897, where he would then be laid to rest at the North End Cemetery. His legacy is emphasized by the quote by Elihu Root found on his tombstone, which reads:


"Though born a slave

He possessed those virtues

Without which Kings are but slaves"

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