The Mattydale That Never Was

The map below depicts the Kirsch Tract in 1927. The Kirsch Tract shows two portions: a southern portion colored green and a northern portion colored red. The northern portion was never developed - no houses were ever built north of Kirsch Drive.

There are several items related to the development map that need to be pointed out. The main road, running north and south near the right border, is labeled "Cicero St." it is actually Brewerton Road. Bear Trap Creek is labeled "Bear Trap Drive." However, what is pictured is a creek not a road. The different blocks have been divided into individual lots while still showing any existing structures on the block. The Kirsch Compound was in the block on Brewerton Road between Bernard and Inglewood. A large parcel of land in the next block north is labeled J. M. Kirsch but that was not the Kirsch's land. The large structure in the center of that parcel is the Old Rural Inn, that had been run by Theodore Faatz from about 1904 until the early 1920s. This was the location of Rose Lawn that was the childhood home of L. Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of Oz. The original home, was being run as a roadhouse when it was destroyed by fire in February 1899. It was rebuilt about 1900-1901. The property went through many owners and in October 1957 it was Gatto's Restaurant when it was damaged by fire. On the evening of April 18, 1958, a second fire destroyed the entire structure. Today it is the Action Sport and Skate.

No.	Comment
1	The big green barn that belonged to the Kirsch family. There was a great sledding hill on the west side of this barn. When Roxboro Road was extended north from its intersection with Bernard St. the bottom portion of the sledding hill was removed. Sledding on the hill was still possible if one didn’t mind a 5 foot drop off at the end.
2	The remains of one of the Kirsch barns that was destroyed in a fire in 1927?? After this the Kirsch family moved their herd of cows south of Syracuse in the town of Onondaga. According to one of the Kirsch family members the herd was moved in a traditional cattle drive through the streets of Syracuse.
3	One of the Kirsch barns that was rented out to the Bob Cave Sign company during the mid 1950s. Cave was originally further south on Brewerton Road, across the street from Gratzer Dairy. When he moved to the Kirsch barn, a restaurant occupied his former location.
4	Another barn in the Kirsch compound
5	Kirsch Dairy. In the late 1960s all the structures in this Kirsch Compound where demolished to make way for Topp’s Supermarket. At some point Topp’s moved out and other businesses moved in. Not seen in this picture was the old Kirsch homestead that was just north of the dairy. The homestead was also demolished to make way for Topp’s - today a Pizza Hut occupies the site.
6	The Rectory of St. Margaret’s Church - still standing
7	The original portion of St. Margaret’s Catholic School that was opened on September 11, 1954.
8	Additional classrooms at St. Margaret’s - opened in Fall 1958. Notice that the auditorium that is now at the end of the classroom addition is not there, not even something that looks like a construction site.
9	The Convent for the Sisters of St. Francis who taught at St. Margaret’s Catholic School.
10	Roxboro Road. This road was first seen when the Kirsch Tract was developed in 1927. Why Roxboro? - never found an answer.
11	Bernard St. This was named after Bernard Kirsch whose house formerly occupied the spot where the first portion of St. Margaret’s School was built. In 1953 his house was moved down Kirsch Drive to the northeast corner of Kirsch and Belmont St. An underground garage was built for the house. The first one in Mattydale.
12	Roxboro Road Elementary School
13	Roxboro Road Middle School
14	Location of the Old Ball Park 1952 - 1958. By examining this part of the photo carefully it is possible to convince one’s self that remnants of those fields can be see. However, there are no backstops, fences or bleachers remaining. The fields, by this point, had been moved to the far east side of Mattydale.
15	Old Town of Salina District #4 Schoolhouse at the northwest corner of Hopkins Road and Buckley Road. The house occupied up until at least the late 1970s. At some point it burned down.
16	The Pit. This area was excavated during the 1950s for use in the construction of Interstate 81. Part of the Pit captured water but it was never deep enough or clean enough for swimming. The sides of the pit made great sledding in the winter.
17	This line of trees marked the northern extend of the Kirsch fields. This is the south line of old Military Lot #3 from the Military Tract that was surveyed at the end of the Revolutionary War. The Kirsch Farm was on Lot #18 that was south of Lot #3. North of this line today are the Orchard Estates’ Apartments that were built at some point prior to 1968.
18	Buckley Road - this is an old road that shows up on an 1860 map of the town of Salina.
19	General Electric’s Electronic Parkway site.
20	Kirsch Drive.