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Robert A. Long: The Lumber Baron Who Built Cities
Ever heard of a guy who turned trees into, well, practically everything? Meet Robert Alexander Long. This dude wasn’t just a lumber baron; he was a developer, investor, newspaper owner, and a seriously generous philanthropist. Kansas City, Missouri was basically his home base, but he also left his mark by founding the towns of Longview, Washington, and Longville, Louisiana. Talk about leaving a legacy!
Humble Beginnings
Robert’s story starts back on December 17, 1850, in Shelbyville, Kentucky. He was one of nine kids raised on his dad’s farm. Can you imagine the chaos? Anyway, he got his education in local schools and even spent a little over a year at a boys’ school in Shelbyville. After that, he jumped into the workforce, clerking at a local store.
Westward Bound
Fast forward to 1873, when Robert was 22. He decided to pack his bags and head to Columbus, Kansas. His uncle, C.J. White, was a banker there, so it was probably a good opportunity.
Love and Lumber
Things started looking up in 1874 when Robert met Martha Ellen Wilson, a 19-year-old schoolteacher. They hit it off, and a year later, on December 16, 1876, they tied the knot. They had a son, but tragically he only lived a few weeks. Later they had two daughters, Sally America, born in 1879, and Loula, born in 1881.
Now, here’s where the lumber story really begins. Robert teamed up with his cousin Robert White and a friend, Victor B. Bell, to start a hay baling company. Yeah, hay. But, as luck would have it, the hay business flopped. However, they were able to sell the lumber that was used to build the hay sheds. They quickly realized that lumber was in high demand, and decided to order more. On April 30, 1875, a carload of lumber was unloaded in Columbus, Kansas. And just like that, a lumber empire was born!
At the time, Robert Long was just 24, and his partners were even younger. He became the yard manager, bookkeeper, and all-around handyman. The funny thing is, he didn’t really know much about the lumber business at first! They didn’t have a ton of cash, but Victor Bell’s dad was the president of the Kansas City Savings Bank, and Robert White’s dad was the cashier. So, they got some great recommendations and loans when they needed them.
The Longs’ first home in Columbus was a small three-room cottage near the lumber yard. Later, they built a bigger house and lived there for over 16 years.
From Small-Time to Big Time
In the first year, the company only made about $800. The next year, profits jumped to $2,000. That was enough to open a branch yard. In 1877, Robert White passed away, and the remaining partners bought out his share. Over the next few years, they opened more yards in southern Kansas.
By 1884, the company was officially incorporated with a capital of $300,000. Each year, they kept opening new yards and expanding their operations. Back in the day, Robert Long was happy to sell lumber a few hundred feet at a time. But, now the company was selling millions of feet of lumber, millwork, lime, cement, coal, and other products!
In 1887, Robert A. Long and Victor Bell officially formed the Long-Bell Lumber Company in Columbus, Kansas. That same year, Long’s brother-in-law, Samuel H. Wilson, joined the company. In 1889, they added a wholesale department, and Samuel Wilson took over the retail department, a position he held until he passed away in 1903.
Railroads and Riches
Long was also smart enough to invest early in the Kansas City Southern Railroad, which is still running today. This railroad was crucial for transporting his raw materials and finished products.
At some point, Long bought 1,520 acres and developed a coal mine with two shafts in Stone City, near Columbus.
In 1891, the company’s capital stock was increased to $500,000. That same year, Long moved his family to Kansas City, where they lived in a fancy Queen Anne-style house on Independence Avenue, one of the city’s most upscale areas.
Branching Out (Literally!)
When the railroad reached Louisiana, Robert Long was one of the first to jump on the opportunity. In 1900, the Long-Bell Lumber Company created the King-Ryder Lumber Company in Bon Ami, Louisiana. After buying land in many parts of the state, the company started harvesting lumber to supply its needs. By that year, Kansas City was shipping 4,000 railcars of finished lumber every year.
The Long-Bell Lumber Company became the parent organization of a huge business empire. Besides the main company, there were nine other corporations involved in lumber manufacturing and several more for other business activities. The organization owned tons of land in Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas. The ten sawmill plants had an annual capacity of 500,000,000 feet!
By 1902, the Long-Bell Lumber Company had 50 retail yards and 1,600 employees. Its manufacturing plants were equipped with the latest technology. Branches were established in St. Louis, Texarkana, and Tacoma, Washington. With a capital stock of $1,250,000, it was clear that the man behind the desk was successful.
In 1903, Long-Bell organized the Hudson River Lumber Company in DeRidder, Louisiana, and built a big mill across from Washington Street. At that time, the Kansas City Southern Railroad and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad ran through DeRidder.
By 1904, the mill in Bon Ami, Louisiana, was producing 300,000 board feet of lumber daily, making it the largest in the area.
Building Towns and Empires
On March 16, 1906, the Long-Bell Company bought out two mills from the Bradley-Ramsey Lumber Company in Lake Charles, Louisiana. This included 105,000 acres and 36 miles of the Lake Charles and Leesville Railroad, which was renamed the Lake Charles and Northern Railroad. The purchase included seven locomotives, 120 log cars, and 59 miles of tracks. The new rail formed part of the Atlantic System of the Southern Pacific Company. In October 1906, a new location was cleared along the route for the Longville Long Leaf Lumber Company and town. The company built the three-story, 60-room Southern Hotel, 163 cottages for workers, a large commissary with $30,000 worth of supplies, an elementary and high school, a complete machine shop, a roundhouse, a car repair shop, and a blacksmith shop. A two-story fire department building provided around-the-clock service, starting with a horse-drawn wagon and ending with a fire truck, the First National Bank, a barbershop, and the Dixie Theater.
By this point, the Long-Bell Lumber Company was the biggest lumber company in the world.
Kansas City Landmark
In 1907, the 14-story R.A. Long Building, a Beaux-Arts skyscraper in downtown Kansas City, was built at 928 Grand Avenue for $1,250,000. Today, it’s on the National Register of Historic Places.
That same year, the Longs started building an estate that showed off their importance. Overlooking North Terrace Park, the 72-room mansion and related buildings took up an entire city block. The three-acre estate was on a hill 280 feet above the Missouri River, with an amazing view. Besides the main house, there was a carriage house and stable, gate lodge, greenhouse, and colonnaded pergola. Long loved horses, and the stable was designed to hold ten horses and five grooms. When it was finished in 1911, the Longs named it Corinthian Hall. The French Renaissance mansion at 3218 Gladstone Boulevard was Kansas City’s first million-dollar home. Today, the mansion is on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as the Kansas City Museum.
Longville’s Rise and Fall
Around 1913, Long-Bell acquired the Ludington Lumber Company and transferred 3,000 acres to add to its lumber reserve. When the mill burned down in 1920, about 2,500 people lived in Longville, Louisiana. Since the uncut lumber reserve was getting smaller, the mill wasn’t rebuilt, and the town started to disappear. The planer was turned into a hardwood flooring mill, which was moved to DeRidder, Louisiana, in 1927, when all operations at Longville stopped.
Longview Farm
Robert built Longview Farm in 1913-1914 in eastern Jackson County, on the outskirts of Kansas City. The 2,000-acre farm had 42 buildings, 250 acres of lawns, flower beds, four greenhouses, dairy barns, and a huge 22,000-square-foot mansion. Now, parts of the farm are home to Longview College, Longview Lake, and the New Longview neighborhood in Lees Summit, Missouri. The farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 24, 1985.
The City of Longview, Washington
In 1923, Robert Long founded the city of Longview, Washington, a "planned city" built near two of Long-Bell’s lumber mills. He donated money for the city’s public library, first high school, train station, YMCA hall, and Hotel Monticello. The mills were advertised as the largest in the world. A newspaper was also created, with the first issue of Longview News published on January 27, 1923. Long was the main stockholder until he passed away on March 15, 1934, and then it was held in a family trust until 1947.
A Legacy of Remembrance
Long was a key player in creating Kansas City’s Liberty Memorial, a World War I museum and monument. He was the president of the Liberty Memorial Association and donated a lot of money. In less than a year, the organization raised $2,500,000. The monument was dedicated on November 11, 1926.
The End of an Era
Long died on March 15, 1934, at age 83, and was buried at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Kansas City. That year, the Long-Bell Lumber Company filed for bankruptcy and then filed a reorganization plan in the Kansas City federal court in 1935 after Long’s death.
In August 1946, a bronze bust of Long was placed in the renamed R. A. Long Park in Longview, Washington.
In 1956, International Paper Company bought all the remaining holdings of the Long-Bell Lumber Company and renamed it IP-Long-Bell. With the lumber gone and the mill outdated, IP-Bell stopped operations in 1960, and the mills were taken apart and sold.
Words to Live By
“Every big businessman should write a paper or make a speech at least twice a year on some live subject, not necessarily connected with his business, that would require investigation. Investigation means more knowledge, and knowledge is an asset.”
– Robert A. Long
So, there you have it. Robert A. Long: a lumber baron, a city builder, and a man who believed in the power of knowledge. Not a bad legacy, right?