Chiswell Dabney Langhorne (1843-1919)
Colonel "Chilly" D. Langhorne, of "Mirador" Greenwood, Virginia
He was born into one of Virginia's oldest and most prominent planter families, but after the Civil War they lost their slaves and their land fell to ruin. Having served in the Confederate Army and now in severely reduced circumstances, Chilly moved his family to into what is now known as the Langhorne House at Danville and became a tobacco auctioneer. It is said that it was Chilly who came up with the fast-talking chant for which auctioneers are known today. However, it was in railways that Chilly re-established the family fortune: his former commanding officer gave him the construction contract for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway which he completed successfully, and that led to more. By 1892, his fortune was re-established which allowed him to buy Mirador in Greenwood, Virginia, thereby returning his family to the comfort and style of living to which they had previously been accustomed.
