Former Slave Pyrrhus Concer's Home Is Still Rubble in Southampton

Twenty years ago, it came to the attention of some local historians that a small, rundown house on the banks of Lake Agawam in Southampton had been the home of a former slave named Pyrrhus Concer. It came up because the current owner had it for sale. A title search had revealed that fact.

Most people in these parts think slavery was only in the south. People know runaway slaves were kept in hiding by northerners so southerners couldn’t find them.

Pyrrhus Concer, however, was born in Southampton Village in 1814 the son of Violet Williams, owned by a local farmer named Nathan Cooper. It wasn’t until Concer was six years old that slavery became illegal in New York State. As such, slave children became indentured servants until they grew up. Concer became a freed slave when he was 18.

And after that, he had an astonishing career. He became a deckhand on a whaling ship out of Sag Harbor and when coming ashore in Japan was greeted as the first black man ever to set foot in that nation. He then joined the Gold Rush in California, enjoying certain success and soon thereafter returned to Southampton, building this little house for himself on .98 acres overlooking the landing area in Monument Square. For the next thirty years, he operated a ferryboat that sailed beachgoers across Lake Agawam from a dock near his house to a dock at the ocean bathing beach. He charged five cents. When he died, at the age of 83, his obituary in the local paper described him as one of the most respected residents of the village.

The house that Concer built isn’t there anymore. It was torn down five years after it was realized what a treasure the village had. Pieces of it have been saved. It could be rebuilt. And herein hangs a tale.

As I said earlier, it was put up for sale in poor condition for $2 million. It also turned out that when a study was done to earmark important historic homes in the Village in 1970, nobody put Cyrrus Concer’s house on it.

A buyer appeared. A couple: David and Sylvia Hermer. They bought the place, then applied for a permit to knock the Concer House down so they could build their dream house there. As noted, the Concer House did not have any historic designation that might have prevented that.

Local residents urged Mayor Epley to find a way to save it. Epley contacted the couple. A compromise was reached. The tearing down of the Concer House would be delayed for six months, and during that interval, historians could take the ancient parts of the house down so that after the demolition the house could be re-constructed elsewhere. It seemed a good deal. And that’s what they did. While they were at work, it was found that the house was even smaller than they thought. Porches, verandas and other additions put on later got removed too. And then what remained got taken away.

But then there was blockbuster news. The Hermers announced a change of plans. They’d changed their minds. There’d be no dream house. Instead, they’d sell the property. As an empty lot with no Concer House on it, it was worth a whole lot more. Think of it. Residential waterfront in the center of town. First $5 million takes it. And so, the Village, seeing they could build the Concer House back on its original site, paid the $5 million. And the Hermers walked.

So why is the little Concer House still just a pile of lumber in storage today, seven years later? Red tape? Lawsuits? Beats me.

Have a East End real estate story? Want to share? Text us at 516-527-3566. We’ll call you back, and then write it up for this weekly column. –Dan