Our History
Five generations of family ownership of The Langdale Company have afforded it continuity in leadership that has contributed to growth and stability for more than a century.Our Company
The Langdale Company
Beginning with one crop of turpentine timber on the western edge of the Okefenokee Swamp in 1894, The Langdale Company has grown into a highly diversified enterprise that includes forestry, forest products and other affiliate companies that span the automotive, banking, hospitality and land development industries.
Harley Langdale, Jr.
Harley Langdale, Jr. was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on September 8, 1914 the oldest of four children to Harley and Thalia Lee Langdale. After graduating from Valdosta High School, he attended The Citadel before transferring to the University of Georgia to study Forestry. He was the first person from Lowndes County to receive a BSF Degree in Forestry from UGA. Mr. Langdale became the third Registered Forester in the state of Georgia. On August 21, 1943 he married the former Eileen Cox of Valdosta. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Valdosta.
Mr. Langdale was actively engaged in practicing forestry and developing markets for forest products since 1937 and was a consistent leader in the industry for over seventy years. Under his leadership, The Langdale Company and its affiliates grew from a small turpentine and land holding company into a fully integrated diversified forest products company.
In addition to serving as Chairman of The Langdale Company for many years, Mr. Langdale served in various business and philanthropic capacities. He served as a Director of Georgia Southern & Florida Railway Co. for 39 years, Director for the Citizens and Southern National Bank for over 29 years and a member of its Executive Committee for over 10 years, Director of Georgia International Life Insurance Co., Trustee of the Herty Foundation for 25 years, Chairman and President of Southern Forest Products Association, President of Forest Farmers Association, President of the Georgia Forestry Association, Chairman of the Forest Research Society – Southeastern Section, Chairman of the Society of American Foresters – Southeastern Section, Chairman of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority during the first five years that it was established, Treasurer and member of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Hospital Authority for 23 years, and a Founder and Trustee of the South Georgia Medical Center Foundation.
“People & Trees is more than a motto – it is the very foundation of who we are.”