Barber County Kansas

The Barber County Index, May 15, 1958.

Services For Pioneer Friday

Irena B. (Lake) Gordon, 87, died Wednesday at the Medicine Lodge Memorial hospital after an illness of about two months.

She was believed to be the oldest in Barber county, having lived in the county since 1873.

She came to Barber county before the county was officially organized, with her parents, Reuben Lake and Mary Lake, who founded Lake City in May of 1873. She experienced the Indian scares of 1873 and 1874.

She pre-empted and proved up a claim near Medford, Okla., and made the Cherokee strip run in 1803.

She was married to Franklin L. Gordon in 1905 at Lake City where they were ranchers, until 1913 when they moved to the claim near Medford and farmed there until 1954. She returned to Lake City when Frank died in 1935 and she has lived there since then. They had no children.

The funeral services will be held Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the Lake City Methodist church.

Surviving her are two nephews, Russell B. Lake of Lake City and Dan Lake of Meade.


Irena B. (Lake) Gordon is buried in the Lake City Cemetery.


F.L. Gordon, husband of Irena (Lake) Gordon.

Charles B. "Keno" Armstrong, Barber County stagecoach driver; this page has a photo of Irena Gordon.


Thanks to Shirley Brier for finding, transcribing and contributing the above news article to this web site!




Last Updated:  

Barber County Home page