Map of Longville city, Minnesota

Longville pronunciation (help·info) is a city in Cass County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 156 at the 2010 census. The city was named after its founder, Jim Long. It is roughly four hours north of the Twin Cities. It is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area. Minnesota State Highway 84 serves as a main route in the community, and Minnesota State Highway 200 is nearby. Longville is home to Longville Municipal Airport.

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Longville location map. Where is Longville city?

History

The area was inhabited for thousands of years by succeeding cultures of Indians. Before European settlement, the Ojibwe moved into the area from the Great Lakes, pushing out the historic Dakota peoples, such as the Assiniboine and Hidatsa. European American settlers followed the early fur traders and trappers, and encroached on Native American territories.

Longville started around 1906 as a logging town in what is now Cass County. Fishing was very popular in early Longville and is still prevalent today. Tourism later grew as a service industry. In the 20th century, people from urban areas came to more rural areas for recreation associated with lakes, fishing, hunting and water sports. All the roads in and around Longville were dirt until the 1920s. Much of the downtown was rebuilt during the mid-20th century. Many of the cabins in the surrounding landscape were built in the late 1960s and 1970s. By the 1980s the Longville area was almost fully developed. The town has changed little since 1990.

Longville Road Map

Longville city Satellite Map

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 0.86 square miles (2.23 km), of which 0.84 square miles (2.18 km) is land and 0.02 square miles (0.05 km) is water.

Longville is part of the Northern Minnesota’s glacial plain, which was flattened by glaciers during the most recent glacial advance. During the last glacial period, massive ice sheets at least 0.62 miles (1 km) thick ravaged the state’s landscape and sculpted its terrain. The Wisconsin glaciation left 12,000 years ago. These glaciers covered all of Minnesota except the far southeast, an area characterized by steep hills and streams that cut into the bedrock. Since the landscape is going through post-glacial rebound, it is poorly drained, creating Cass County’s numerous lakes and rivers.

Longville’s cultural landscape and its surrounding lands can be characterized as seasonal and recreational. The bulk of human activity occurs in the summer when the cabin owners vacation at their lake homes, and the activities they engage in are mostly recreational.

Notable Lakes

Long Lake lies immediately north of town. It is very deep, up to 110 feet (34 m), and drops off rather quickly from shore. This is very unusual for lakes of this size in the region. They are normally no more than 50 feet (15 m) deep.

Girl Lake lies to the west, part of the Woman Lake Chain.

See also