Longville, Minnesota


Longville 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 a popular summer tourist destination and services the many cabins on nearby Long Lake and the much larger Woman Lake. Its population swells to around 5,000 in the summer, including the cabin dwellers.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of, of which is land and 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 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.
Long Lake is very deep, up to, 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 deep.
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.

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, not suffering from the overdevelopment plaguing other Cass County towns.

Economy

Socio-economically, Longville is both white and blue-collar, as the economy is primarily made up of two sectors, services and real estate. A large number of service industries such as a marina, hardware stores, grocery stores, gas stations, and bait shops support the cabins. These industries share the economy with the more white-collar industry of buying and selling real estate. Most of the real estate is focused on the purchasing and selling of cabins and lake homes, which are often quite expensive, making real estate one of the region's top-paying occupations. Unlike boats, cars, and other expensive toys like snowmobiles and jet skis that can be bought elsewhere and brought to Longville, real estate cannot be bought elsewhere.
Longville's diverse service economy includes a grocery store, gas station, bar, coffee shop, bait shop, supper club, realty services, airplane rides, boat maintenance, three hardware stores, a library, clinic, bank, airport, multiple art galleries, gift shops, pizza parlor, ice cream shop, mini golf, sporting goods and a chicken wing restaurant. All these businesses support the cabin owners. Longville services not just nearby Long Lake, but many other lakes in the area, including the much larger Woman Lake, a well-known fishing lake.
Few of the summer visitors spend much time earning wages or on other compensation-based activities. They instead drive the local service economy, which depends on them. Many of the service businesses are only open in the summer as there is not enough customer traffic in the winter to be profitable. This differs from the regular maintenance and upkeep that cabins require such as mowing grass, cleaning bathrooms, and hauling brush. These types of activities are considered "work" but usually are done by a homeowner not working for an employer.
Longville has a weekly newspaper, the Pine Cone Press-Citizen.

Wildlife

Long Lake is not a good walleye lake. It has only a handful of them. It was stocked with walleye around 2000. But it is very scenic and good for viewing wildlife from boats. And it is an excellent northern pike lake. They are easy to catch at the dropoffs, where the lake goes from 20–25 to 50 feet deep in just a 5-foot space.. One good place to catch northern pike is around the two grassy islands toward the lake's northern end. Sunfish and bluegills are also very common and easy to catch off the dock.
Longville is home to many types of birds, including waterfowl, forest birds, and eagles. Nearby lakes are home to many common loons, the state bird of Minnesota. Common loons are often seen on Long Lake. Bald eagles also inhabit the region. They can be seen flying above Long Lake and picking fish out the water. It is not uncommon to see a bald eagle fly over Long Lake with a fish in its talons.
Multiple small forest mammals make the Longville region home. Beavers can be found in the area's many marshes, streams, and ponds. Raccoons are known to tear apart cabin trash cans. Martens and fishers can also be found in the woods along with the much smaller and more common mink. Wolverines used to inhabit the forests but are now extinct in Minnesota, last seen in 1920. In the 1800s mountain lions were fairly common in the area, but they are now endangered in Minnesota. Conversely, white-tailed deer are commonly seen in the woods and along the highway into town from the east. Bears also inhabit the area.
Porcupines like to gnaw on cabin floorboards and are considered pests. The area is home to numerous feral lab dogs that escaped from their hunter owners.
Timberwolves also inhabit the region, but are difficult to spot because they live mainly in dense forest and marsh areas.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 156 people, 92 households, and 41 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 164 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 100.0% White.
There were 92 households of which 10.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.9% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 1.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 55.4% were non-families. 48.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 35.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.70 and the average family size was 2.39.
The median age in the city was 63.8 years. 11.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 9.6% were from 25 to 44; 25.1% were from 45 to 64; and 48.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 43.6% male and 56.4% female.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,167, and the median income for a family was $27,917. Males had a median income of $16,563 versus $8,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,162.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 180 people, 103 households, and 52 families residing in the city. The population density was 301.7 people per square mile. There were 150 housing units at an average density of 251.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 96.11% White, 3.33% Native American, and 0.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.56% of the population.
There were 103 households out of which 9.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.7% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.5% were non-families. 48.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 35.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.75 and the average family size was 2.46.
In the city, the population was spread out with 11.7% under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 11.7% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 48.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 64 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,818, and the median income for a family was $39,583. Males had a median income of $20,625 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,524. None of the families and 5.3% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 6.2% of those over 64.

Tourism

Longville is "The Turtle Racing Capital of the World ". Every Wednesday through the summer, and July 4, the town's main street is shut down for the turtle races and other attractions, such as food stands, games, and dance contests.
Longville Municipal Airport is in the city.
The tourist season runs from about mid-May through Labor Day weekend. The town is filled with people, many from the Twin Cities, visiting cabins. In winter the town is primarily inhabited by locals who snowmobile or snowshoe. Shops in town are closed or have very limited hours in winter.
Despite being a tourist destination, Longville is not known for its restaurants. There are only a handful, including Frosty's ice cream and pizza parlor and Patrick's, a supper club on the far end of downtown on Girl Lake. The town also has a grocery store, Tabaka's, and a coffee shop, Common Grounds, which provides free wireless internet access.
The Northland Scenic Hiking Trail can be accessed a few miles north of town.
Float plane rides are offered most Saturdays in downtown Longville.

Notable people