Morgan Lake Boaters, circa 1910s

This photograph of boaters on Morgan Lake, according to a note made on the back, was given as a gift to the Adriance Memorial Library by a Dr. Davis on October 22, 1951. Although the exact date that the photograph was taken is not recorded on the photograph itself, I was able to date the photograph circa 1910s. To determine this, I closely examined the clothing worn by the men and women in the larger row boat. The man in the center is wearing a stiff bowler hat and the man seated on the stern is wearing a flat straw boater. The three men that are visible in the larger boat are all wearing waistcoats (or vests). I then watched Poughkeepsie Moving Pictures, a VHS tape presented by the Dutchess County Historical Society of a segment of film recorded in 1913 that was found in a barn in Pawling, NY in the 1970s. The men in this film from 1913 are wearing the same hat styles as the ones worn in the above picture, which leads me to believe that the photograph was taken circa 1910s.

Examining the men's and women's fashions in this photograph also provided me with insight on which socio-economic classes used Morgan Lake for recreation. The two men in the small wooden row boat are wearing  jackets rather than waistcoats and collared white shirts. Their hats are "floppy;" neither stiff like the bowler nor flat like the straw boater. Also, they are fishing and rowing across the lake, while the well-dressed boaters appear to be drifting through the water at a relaxing pace. Based on their dress and activity, the men fishing may have belonged to the working class or lower middle class while the men, women and children in the larger row boat were likely to be members of the middle or upper middle class.

Visible in the background is the Morgan Lake Ice Company ice house. George Morgan began the ice business and was involved in it prior to his death on September 21, 1879. His sister, Julia A. Morgan was the immediate predecessor.