Charlotte, NC -- The 36 acre park with five youth soccer fields at 210 East Mallard Creek Church Road in the University Area will be officially named “Kirk Farm Fields” at a ceremony in the park at 10am, Saturday, March 15, 2008. These fields are near Mallard Creek Church Road and US Highway 29. (For years they were often called “Citgo fields” because they are behind the Citgo gas station on the corner--recently converted to a Texaco station).
The naming is in honor of John Kirk and four generations of his family who farmed on the site and raised livestock there. John Kirk bought the property at the end of the Civil War. The family says, “Kirk was at Appomattox when General Lee surrendered.” Over the years the Kirks raised hay, corn and livestock on the property. The Kirks have been and still are leaders in the Mallard Creek community and in Mallard Creek Presbyterian Church, which is near the fields. They say that at one time there was a ford on the property and a “foot log” for people to cross Mallard Creek. In 1925 Mecklenburg County dredged the creek and assessed property owners for the cost. The state also built a bridge across the creek in the mid-1920’s. In the mid-1930’s, the County Drainage Commission dredged the creek again and built an earthen dike on the west bank. The family says the captain of the dredge told them this would prevent flooding. The Kirk family then planted and harvested corn on the land where the soccer fields are now located. But the dyke soon broke after a big rain, and the fields flooded again. The family later ran a dairy farm on the property before granting it to UNCC. Part of the land was obtained in 1987 by Mecklenburg County.
In addition to soccer fields, the park contains the eastern end the Clark’s Creek/Mallard Creek Greenway. This greenway, mostly paved, runs 7.3 miles and is currently the county’s longest continuous greenway. It connects many neighborhoods, University Research Park, and Mallard Creek Elementary School. Construction will soon start on a branch to extend through the campus of UNCC. The park also contains a wetlands viewing area with a boardwalk, so visitors can get a close-up look at the wetlands flora and fauna.
Making brief remarks at the naming ceremony will be Jennifer Roberts, Chairman of the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners, Park and Recreation Commissioner Owen Furuseth, Park and Recreation Director Jim Garges, and a member of the Kirk family. Many members of the Kirk family still live in and around Mallard Creek. Friends and neighbors petitioned County Commissioners to name the fields after the family.
