HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER

The Yellow Brick Road

There is still a small patch of yellow brick which has been exposed through wear in the 400 block of East Church Street. This is a remnant of the first hard surfaced road in Salisbury. As you turn east off Route 13 onto Church Street, if you miss seeing it, your car will remind you where it is by giving you a jolt as you descend into the pothole. I took the above picture on February 24, 2011 and this is probably the last we will see of “the yellow brick road”.

         

The vitrified yellow bricks were put down on a concrete base in the spring of 1904. The road covered was from the West Main Street Bridge up Main Street to Division Street where it turned left. From there it took a right turn on Church Street to the N. Y. P. & N. Railway track. Since there were few, if any, automobiles around at the time, the clang of the iron wheels on wagons and the clop-clop of horses’ iron horse shoes on the brick caused quite a racket. After this, all Salisbury streets were covered with macadam.

         

The original cost of the yellow brick road was $27,000, or $8.00 per running foot. The City of Salisbury paid half of this and the abutting property owners on each side were charged one quarter of the cost.  

         

This little bit of Salisbury history is going to be visible until the City decides to fill in that pothole. When they do decide to fill it in, I would love to cut out one of those bricks and save it for posterity. There is not much history to see around Salisbury, so if you want to see it, you had better get out there before it is covered up.

         

There has always been a concerted effort by the local “powers that be” to erase Salisbury’s past. The fiasco of covering the facades of most of the buildings on Main Street with aluminum to make Salisbury look more modern has been reversed in recent years with some of the property owners realizing that brick makes for a more attractive look than aluminum. In this throw-away mentality of today, there is something to be said for taking care of what we already have. Maybe some of the structures are not as practical as what can be built now, but preserving our history and our heritage is important, too. Improvements can be made and the past can be preserved at the same time. Paving over the yellow brick with macadam certainly improved the situation for the person traveling on it and the people living near it.

         

Also, the N. Y. P. and N. station, which was the final destination of the yellow brick road was replaced in 1914 when the new Union Station was built.

(UPDATE) The City has temporarily filled the pothole with tar and chip. As seen above, there are a few yellow bricks still visible. Howard Landon at Public Works said he wanted to fill it months ago, but they said it was historic and should be preserved so they did a temporary repair. When it is repaired again, I have been promised any bricks they extract. Whoopee!!! That will be some great Salisbury history.