Longview Farm facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Longview Farm
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 Location in Missouri
Location in the United States
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| Location | 11700 and 850 S.W. Longview Rd., Lee's Summit, Missouri |
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| Area | 325 acres (132 ha) |
| Built | 1913 |
| Architect | Hoit, Henry; Kessler, George |
| Architectural style | Mission/Spanish Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 85003378 |
| Added to NRHP | October 24, 1985 |
Longview Farm is a famous estate in Lee's Summit, Missouri, United States. It was built by a wealthy businessman named Robert A. Long. He wanted a special place for his prize-winning animals.
Construction of the farm began in 1913 and finished very quickly in just 18 months. It was completed in 1914. The farm became known as The World's Most Beautiful Farm. Many skilled workers helped build it, including 50 craftsmen from Belgium and 200 stonemasons from Sicily. In total, about 2,000 people worked on the project.
The farm was huge, covering 1,780 acres. It had over 50 buildings, including a grand mansion. It was designed to be very modern for its time. It even had its own dairy that produced milk for the farm, the local community, and charities. Longview Farm was home to many animals, like Jersey cows, hogs, and chickens. It also had large fields for growing food and beautiful gardens.
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History of Longview Farm
Robert Long decided to build Longview Farm because his house in Kansas City was too small for all his animals. He wanted a large country estate. In 1912, he chose the perfect spot, and planning for the farm began. By 1914, the farm was like a small, self-sufficient town.
Amazing Features of the Farm
Longview Farm was full of modern inventions and new ideas. The mansion had brand new furniture that looked like antiques. The farm also had its own telephone system and full plumbing.
One unique feature was the 25 miles (40 km) of white wooden fences. These fences were built without any nails or bolts! There were also over seven miles (11 km) of special roads called macadamized roads. These roads were a new type of paved road at the time. Even with all the grass fields, extra hay and feed had to be brought in for all the animals.
Buildings at Longview
There were more than 50 buildings at Longview Farm. Most of them were made of stucco with red tile roofs. About 2,000 workers from Italy lived in tents while they built the foundations and sewer system.
The farm had many important buildings:
- An office
- A chapel and school room
- Several horse barns for different types of horses (draft horses, saddle horses, broodmares, show horses)
- A hospital barn for sick animals
- A calf and shelter barn
- A hog barn
- A power house and garage
- A milk house with a bottling room
- An ice plant
- A blacksmith shop
- A post office
- A firehouse
- A general store
There was even a hotel or boarding house with a tennis court. This was for guests and unmarried workers. Married workers and managers had their own houses. The entire farm had underground electricity, a water system, and a sewage system.
The Grand Mansion
The main house, or mansion, was very fancy. It was 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) and had 48 rooms! It featured 6 fireplaces, 14 bedrooms, and 10 bathrooms. It was also one of the first homes west of the Mississippi River to have a central vacuum system and steam heating.
The Farm's Church
The church on the farm, called the Longview Chapel Christian Church, opened in 1915. It is still an active church today.
The Long Family and Their Love for Horses
Robert Long became very rich from his lumber business, the Long-Bell Lumber Company. He owned many lumber yards and huge areas of timber land. He bought the land for Longview Farm in Lee's Summit to build his country estate. Robert and his wife Ella had two daughters, Sally America and Loula.
Sally America Long Ellis
Sally traveled the world after finishing school. She met her future husband, Hayne Ellis, a naval officer, on her trip. They got married in 1904. Sally traveled with her husband as a military wife. Her sister, Loula, took care of the horses at the farm. After her husband died, Sally moved back to Longview Farm to live with Loula. She passed away in 1970 at 91 years old.
Loula Long Combs: The Horse Expert
Loula Long was the true expert when it came to the horses at Longview Farm. She loved horses just as much as her father did. She married Pryor Combs, but only after he agreed to live at Longview Farm! Loula lived at the farm from the day it opened until she died in 1971. She spent 65 years showing horses and winning many blue ribbons.
Animals of Longview Farm
Longview Farm was home to many animals. By 1916, it had:
- Over 500 Jersey cows (232 were milked daily)
- 16 Percheron draft horses
- 61 saddle horses
- 44 harness horses
- 29 colts (young horses)
- 29 mules
- 375 Duroc Jersey hogs
By 1941, the farm had over 800 cows! More dairy barns were added to milk 500 cows every day.
Famous Horses
Loula Long named all the horses born or bought at the farm. Many of them became very famous. She often ended their names with "-ion." Here are some of the notable horses:
- Revelation, Realization, Hesitation, and Consternation were known as "the park four."
- The Dude, bought in 1905, was Loula's first horse.
- Shoo Shoo and Hoo Hoo were hackney horses bought in 1906.
- The King, bought in 1908, was one of the best road horses of his time.
- Sensation was bought in 1908 and was the first horse with an "-ion" name.
- Beau Brummel and Beaucaire were expensive trotting stallions bought in 1909.
- Revelation, bought by Loula in 1909, was her favorite horse. It was buried in front of the arena with a memorial.
- Adoration, Importation, and Ovation were imported between 1909 and 1910.
- Speculation was a cow pony bought in 1912.
- Ladylike was Robert Long's horse.
- Aspiration helped Loula become the first woman to win a race in the Sporting Novice Roadster Class in 1913.
- Aviation and Affection helped Loula break a world record in 1914 for a heavy harness half-mile race.
- Easter Cloud won a big prize at the Kentucky State Fair in 1917.
- Chief of Longview, also known as "The Great Parader," was born and trained at the farm. He became a World Champion stallion four times! He was so famous that he was used in advertisements for horse feed.
- Independence Chief was the father of Chief of Longview.
- My Major Dare was the first American Saddle Horse to sell for $10,000.
- Reputation won a championship with Revelation.
- Other champions included Fascination (Buck), Baby List, Captivation (Cappy), and Invasion, Animation.
In 1920, Loula won 31 championships and three reserve titles in just 16 shows!
Charity Events
Loula Long loved to help others. She held special horse shows at Longview Farm to raise money for many charities. These included the Boy Scouts, Animal Rescue League, Children's Mercy Hospital, and the Red Cross.
Longview Farm Today
Longview Farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 24, 1985. This means it's a very important historical site. The listing includes the main house, staff homes, farm buildings, and the chapel. The farm is special because it shows how large estates were built by rich business owners long ago. It was designed to be a community that could support itself.
Longview Farm Elementary School
In 2005, the Longview Farm Elementary School opened. This was a special project involving the Lee's Summit School District and a company called Gale Communities. Gale Communities bought the remaining land of Longview Farm to create a new community called New Longview. They wanted to keep the historical feel of the area. The old show horse arena was turned into the new elementary school! The school had a dedication ceremony on October 9, 2005.
New Longview Community
The New Longview community has many buildings that have been restored to their original look. It includes both homes and businesses.
Homes and Parks
The residential area covers 225 acres. There is also a 50-acre park and the 146-acre Longview Community College campus nearby. The community is also next to the 4,800-acre Longview Park and the 900-acre Longview Lake.
Shopping and Offices
The commercial area has 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) of retail stores and 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) of office space. You can find restaurants, a grocery store, a drug store, and other businesses there. An 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m2) bank also opened in the area. More offices and shops are planned for the future, centered around the old calf and dairy barns.
Longview Lake
Part of Longview Farm was bought by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They built the 930-acre Longview Lake as part of a flood protection program. The Longview dam was built as part of the Little Blue River (Missouri) project.
Longview College
A part of the farm was also given to the Longview College.
