Gordon Summit is a locality located along Lansdowne Road in-between the communities of Lansdowne Station and West River Station. The area was named after R. Gordon who lived in what was then the community of Lairg in the 1870s, and “Summit” portion of its name refers to the 500 foot notable elevation, of the area, which historically marked a natural high point along the overland route between communities.
Lansdowne Station, once a busy railway stop, is a rural community located west of Glengarry Station and near the high ground around Gordon Summit. The community is named in 1884 in honor of Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice (the fifth Marquis of Landsdowne) who was Governor General of Canada (1883-1888). The naming coincided with the prominence of the Intercolonial Railway, whose Stellarton–Truro line passed directly through the area. The area became one of the many rural stops that linked farm communities, lumber camps, and small industries to larger markets.