Longview Farm
Lee’s Summit
Jackson County
The inspiration of millionaire lumber baron Robert Alexander Long, Longview Farm is a National Register of Historic pLaces listed farm complex that exemplifies the vision of a planned “scientific farm.” When completed in 1916, the farm boasted a collection of some 40 structures. Each of the buildings was architecturally related with red tile roofs and stucco exteriors. Many of the buildings featured elaborate cupolas and custom coper weathervanes. Gazebos, pergolas, and planter boxes were used to provide a formal landscape component to the farm compound. Paved roads with gloves on metal light standards interlaced the farm adding a grand boulevard effect. Eight miles of white painted cypress fence defined the perimeter of the complex.
Longview Farm is threatened. The City of Lee’s Summit is in the planning stages of building a 4-lane Parkway extending from Interstate 470 to Highway 150. The Longview Parkway, as planned, would run through the boundaries of the Longview Farm National Register Historic District. Longview Properties LTD, the owner of Longview Farm, has maintained the mansion and repaired some of the gardens around the house. However, many of the buildings have not received any maintenance. Without governmental support, it appears that Longview Farm’s legacy of buildings and landscape will become nothing more than a memory.