Buchanan_Field

Buchanan Field

Introduction

Frank Buchanan came to Syracuse from Ohio after 1910, he was a native of Piqua, Ohio. In 1913 Frank was living at 1305 South Salina Street and filed for a Marriage License with Jessie H. Hermans of 300 West Onondaga Street. By August 1917 Buchanan was living on his farm near Trolley Stop No. 3, on the South Bay Electric Railroad. In 1920 Buchanan (56) was living with his wife Jessie (44) and his son Ralph (26) on the family farm on Brewerton Road in what would, in a few years, be called Mattydale. Frank was a supervisor of the headlight department at Crouse-Hinds and his son was an engineer in the same department. Buchanan had five sons and one daughter by his first wife.

During the 1920s Buchanan served as a trustee of Salina School District #3. In 1924 his son Ralph married Bernice McCurdy and they made their home at 307 Second Street in Liverpool. Frank Buchanan died at age 68 at his home on Brewerton Road, Trolley Stop 3, on June 22, 1930. He was buried in Morningside Cemetery. During the time period 1930 to 1948 the southern portion of the Buchanan property, became known as Buchanan Field and was used for sporting events, Veterans' field days and even the James Strate's Shows set up there in July 1947.

Buchanan's widow, Jessie Heermans Buchanan, was still living at the old homestead in August 1943. In 1946 she was a trustee of Salina School District No. 3. and took part in the annual memorial ceremony. The previous year, 11 newly planted maple trees were dedicated to the memory of former Mattydale school students who had died in World War II. Around 1949 the property was sold and in 1950 the Mattydale Shopping Center was opened for business and is still there today. No obituary has been found for Mrs. Jessie Buchanan.

The Buchanan property is shown in green in this 1924 residential development map. It was given the name Longview here but no subdivision plans were recorded in the Onondaga County Clerk's Office describing the lots shown here. The yellow structures found toward the top of the triangle, between the letters "V" and "E" in Longview, are the Buchanan homestead. For future reference in locating the homestead on the following maps it is noted that the more southerly structure lines up with Richfield Blvd. on the west and the northerly structure lines up with Hill Avenue on the east..

This 1926 aerial photo of the Mattydale triangle shows the same area as depicted in the 1924 residential development map above. Brewerton Road is on the left (west) and LeMoyne St. (east) is on the right. Entering Brewerton Road, from the west, are (starting from the top) Brookfield Road, Richfield Blvd, and Garden City Drive. Entering LeMoyne St. from the east are Hill Avenue and Boulevard Street. Boulevard Street appears as two closely spaced roads as it was originally planned to contain a median. Boulevard Street approximately marked the southern end of Buchanan's property. At one time the Buchanan property was part of the William F. Gere farm. The empty area in the southern portion of the property became known as Buchanan Field.

This is an enlarged portion of the same 1926 aerial photo shown above. This shows the top portion of the triangular area located between Brewerton Road and LeMoyne St. Buchanan was a supervisor at the nearby Crouse-Hinds Company and was not a farmer. However, he appears to have a fair sized orchard located on the south side of his homestead and he did employ farm workers.

This picture comes from a 1933 half page ad by Syracuse Lighting Company promoting natural gas. Mrs. Jessie Buchanan gave a testimonial about the pleasures of heating a home with natural gas.

October 15, 1951. The new highway construction and the realignment of Brewerton Road has caused the roads to cross almost exactly on top of where the Buchanan homestead had been located. At the bottom of the photo is the Mattydale Shopping Center that occupies the location of the former Buchanan Field.

This is the same intersection as it appeared in 2012

This is a 2014 image of the southbound cross over from Brewerton Road to LeMoyne Ave, looking north. The green house on the left is the old Skiff-Bixby house. In the center is the three-story commercial building that was built by Bixby. The image was taken from a point that was at one time the location of the Buchanan homestead. Frank Buchanan was a supervisor in the headlight division of Crouse-Hinds. They were known for the design and manufacturing of traffic signal lights and in 1928 Buchanan was issued a patent on some aspect of traffic signal design or manufacturing. Now there is a symbolic traffic light marking the approximate location of his former home.

Events at Buchanan Field

The earliest event found at Buchanan Field was baseball game played on July 23, 1930. The latest event found was a football game played October 10, 1948. See the newspaper clippings below.

Buchanan Field Movie Clip Click Here

This is a view of the Mattydale Shopping Center, looking north from Boulevard Street, from 1958, when it changed owners.

This is the Mattydale Shopping Center from 2012, looking north from Boulevard Street.

NOTES:

[1928-04-23] - "Syracusans Are Granted Patents," The Herald-Journal, Syracuse, NY, April 23, 1928