Gordon Roberts House

The Gordon-Roberts House allows the visitor to enjoy the home of an upper-middle class family of the late 1800's and their servants, beginning with sipping a cup of house blend tea followed by a tour of three floors of the home. The Gordon-Roberts House was built in 1867 by Josiah Hance Gordon, a prominent attorney in Cumberland. Mr.Gordon had moved to the Cumberland area in 1842, when he commenced to study law at the firm of McKaig and McKaig. He was admitted to the bar in October of 1844. In 1851 he was elected Allegany County State's Attorney and served until 1857 in that capacity. Mr. Gordon was elected in 1859 to the Maryland House of Delegates. During his term in the House, he was one of the legislators arrested at the special meeting held in Frederick on the question of Maryland's secession from the Union. He, along with several other Maryland lawmakers,     was accused of being a secessionist. At first he was incarcerated at Fort McHenry but later sent to Fort Warren. In 1869 Mr. Gordon became president of the C & O Canal. He was appointed Associate Judge of the Circuit Court in 1883. Mr. Gordon remained in the public eye throughout his long and illustrious career. He died suddenly on August 13, 1887 and is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Cumberland.