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GORDONVILLE, TEXAS. Gordonville is on Farm Road 901 and the shores of Lake Texoma twelve miles north of Whitesboro in the northwest corner of Grayson County. It was a part of Holford's sheep ranch until 1872, when Mark Clayton selected it for the site of his general store. William Clarke Quantrill^qv and his guerrillas camped in that secluded area on their frequent visits to Grayson County during the Civil War.^qv Quantrill's treasurer was Capt. Silas M. Gordon, after whom the Gordonville post office was named. When Quantrill left Grayson County for good, Gordon remained behind and operated a trading post in the new town. The Gordonville post office is one of the oldest in the county. The town's population reached its peak of 300 in 1925. After World War II^qv the population declined. In 1949 Gordonville had a population of 200 and six businesses. In the 1965 the Gordonville school was consolidated with that of Whitesboro. In 1989 the community had Baptist and Presbyterian churches and eighteen businesses, while nearby Lake Texoma^qv provided recreational opportunities. In 1990 the recorded population in Gordonville was 220. In 2000 the community contained thirty-seven businesses and 165 inhabitants.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Grayson County Frontier Village, History of Grayson County, Texas (2 vols., Winston-Salem, North Carolina: Hunter, 1979, 1981).

Leslie Keith

The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.

Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/GG/hlg29.html (accessed May 15, 2008).

(NOTE: "s.v." stands for sub verbo, "under the word.")

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Last Updated: January 17, 2008
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