C. Langdon Gordon Collection

452 WFCHS 

Inventory created by Archives Staff 07/1984. Last revised 01/2019.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Collection is open to all researchers.

USE RESTRICTIONS: Restrictions may apply concerning the use, duplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult a member of the archives staff for information concerning these restrictions. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright.

EXTENT: 0.21 linear feet

CREATOR: Gordon, C. Langdon, 1920-2010

DATE: 1931-1968

SCOPE AND CONTENT: The C. Langdon Gordon Collection includes a variety of items concerning the history of the Winchester-Frederick County area. Gordon wrote and published and number of historical works:  Opequon Presbyterian Church, 2009; Five Burying Grounds of Opequon Presbyterian Church, 1996; and Mother Church of the Valley,” a collaboration with John J. Fox III and Arthur L. Stanley. Gordon self-published a book of poetry entitled Poetic Ramblings in 1998 [Call number 811 Gor)]. 

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL: Charles Langdon Gordon (1920 – 2010) was a Frederick County native. He graduated from Bunker Hill High School and enlisted in the US Army Air Corps during WWII.  Gordon worked in real estate. He was an active member of the Opequon Presbyterian Church for 56 years, chairman of the Frederick Co. (VA) Planning Commission, and of the Winchester Regional Airport Authority.  He was a member of Hiram Lodge no. 21 A.F. & A.M. and the Winchester Frederick Historical Society. In 2010 he was honored by the Historical Society as the Historian of the Year. He was married to Ruth Beard Gordon for 47 years with whom he had a son and a daughter. He is buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery, Winchester, VA.

CITE AS: C. Langdon Gordon Collection, 452 WFCHS, Stewart Bell, Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library.

ACQUISITION INFORMATION: Acquired as a gift.

ORGANIZATION:

BOX 1

Braddock Street Methodist Church (folder includes the following):

“First One Hundred Years of Braddock Street United Methodist Church 1858 – 1958,” 68 pages, printed, 2 copies
Cornerstone Laying, Braddock Street Methodist Church, December 7, 1958, program, 1 copy

Frederick County Court House – Rededication June 7, 1968, program, 1 copy

Opequon Presbyterian Church - “A Sketch of the Historic Opequon Presbyterian Church,” 1984, Winchester, VA by C. Langdon Gordon, 8 pages

Poetic Ramblings by C. Langdon Gordon, self- published 53 pages, 1988

Presidential Inaugural Programs (folder includes the following):

1953 – Dwight D. Eisenhower, 48 pages
1965 – Lyndon Baines Johnson, 44 pages

Shenandoah Valley National Bank booklet titled “A Century of Service, 1866-1966, One Hundred Years of Banking in Historic Virginia, the Story of an Institution and the Community It Serves,” written and prepared by Dr. Melton Wright, 47 pages

Winchester Fire Department (folder includes the following):

Program – Great Firemen’s Convention, Winchester, VA, August 12, 13, 14 - 1931, 60 pages
Roll of Honor and History: Volunteer Fire Department of Winchester, VA, 1935, 36 pages

Winchester Hiram Lodge – No. 21 (folder includes the following):

Brochure: “A Short History…” n.d., 2 pages
Letter from Worshipful Master Robert C. Cooper to membership, November 1963, 1 leaf

Winchester Public Schools - “Handbook of the Winchester Public Schools,” 15 pages, n.d. (circa 1930)

PHOTOGRAPHS: Photographs belonging to this collection may be viewed through PastPerfect, which is available at http://handley.pastperfectonline.com