Beach and Pont-Peyrin

Today, Clairac beach is one of the rare freshwater beaches in the department that is still accessible to all lovers of the pleasures of water and relaxation; it is one of the assets of local tourism, thanks to its fine sand (regularly renewed), its supervised bathing, its body of water sheltered from eddies thanks to the dam, its panoramic restaurant, its campsite...

Throughout the 20^th century, before swimming pools invaded private parks and gardens, Unic-Plage, “the queen of river beaches” was a real center of attraction where met for an aperitif, to listen to concerts (Marcel Amont, Roberto Benzi, Luis Mariano, the Peter Sisters…). In the 1930s, women came in hats and a waiter in a white jacket and cap took the orders: Vermouth, Cinzano or Picon beer…
Before that, it was already a well-known place in Clairac: the gently sloping shoreline allowed boats to dock safely because the island (now attached to the mainland) protected from the current. In the municipal archives kept in Agen, one can read that in 1601, a man named Thouron was paid to bring “six hundred hooked tiles to cover the temple, from Capvert, across the river Lot, to the Pont-Peyrin”. On November 3, 1685, a few days after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the 3 pastors of Clairac (Philippot, Brocas and Loches) “embarked with their families on the Pont-Peyrin” to flee the Dragoons (French cavalry regiment).
In Gabriel Martin's photograph, taken around 1900, a woman is doing her laundry in the Lot, her feet in the water, while her husband is fishing. The three children take care of the dog, but they all stare at the photographer. The wheelbarrows are loaded with laundry, two washing boards are fit; on the right, a woman in black watches the scene: probably Laure Martin who accompanied her photographer husband?
On the left bank, the powerful fortified house of Verdier, recognizable by its square pavilions. This is the time when the Clairacais called the place the “cul-de-l'île”…

Grandfather of the late Claude Martin, born in Cambes, Gabriel Martin was a resourceful man. Indeed, in addition to having been a notary clerk for Mr Dudon (future mayor), he was secretary of the town hall. At the origin of the electrification of the mill on the right bank with his cousin Bichon, he was also passionate about photography and took many pictures of Clairac, its houses and monuments, which are today essential testimonies of the village in the past. His photographs were often published as postcards which are the delight of collectors today.