Clio Logo

Longino House

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

This small, unassuming home was once the residence of one of Mississippi's most consequential governors, Andrew H. Longino, who built the house in 1884. Longino served as governor from 1900-1904 and achieved a number of accomplishments during his term. These include leading the effort to build the new state capitol, establishing the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and building the Mississippi State Penitentiary, which is also known as Parchman Farm. Longino lived in the house until 1888. His wife, Marion, was one of the first women in Mississippi to hold a state job (she worked in the Office of the State Auditor). The house itself has five rooms, a porch with pairs of columns with vertical latticework, and a steeply pitched roof. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Images

Built in 1884, the Longino House was the residence of Governor Andrew H. Longino from 1884-1888. He served as governor from 1900-1904.

Plant, Property, House, Home

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Andrew H. Longino was born near Monticello on May 16, 1854. After attending public schools growing up, he earned a bachelor's degree in science from Mississippi College in 1875. He later graduated from the University of Virginia in 1880 with a law degree. The next year, he was was admitted into the Mississippi bar. In the coming years, he served as Clerk of the circuit court and chancery courts of Lawrence County, was elected to the state legislature in 1880 and served until 1884, and was appointed the U.S. District Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi in 1888.

He ran for governor in 1899 and won, beginning his term on January 16, 1900. In addition to his accomplishment stated above, Longino increased funding for schools, promoted outside industries to invest in Mississippi, passed a constitutional amendment that instituted the election of state judges, and established Mississippi State University.

Longino is also associated with a famous incident involving President Theodore Roosevelt, whom he invited to go on a hunting trip in the Mississippi Delta in November 1902. Those who accompanied Roosevelt managed to catch and club a Black bear and suggested that he shoot it. However, Roosevelt refused, stating that doing so would be unsportsmanlike and ordered the bear to be killed to end its suffering. A Brooklyn manufacturer invented the "Teddy Bear" stuffed animal (Roosevelt was often referred to as "Teddy") after seeing a cartoon depicting the incident.

Longino ran for the U.S. Senate in 1903 but lost. After his term as governor ended, he opened a law practice in Jackson, Mississippi. He unsuccessfully ran for governor again in 1919. He retired from public life and passed away at the age of 87 on February 24, 1942.

Sources

"Andrew Houston Longino." University of Virginia School of Law. Accessed January 15, 2020. https://libguides.law.virginia.edu/c.php?g=39996&p=254151.

"A.H. Longino." The Historical Marker Database. Accessed January 15, 2020. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=70809.

Maddox, Dawn. "Longino House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. August 21, 1972. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/905617b8-5d20-49d1-a0a5-5f3c7203e057.

Sansing, David. "Andrew Houston Longino: Thirty-fifth Governor of Mississippi: 1900-1904." Mississippi History Now. January 2004. http://mshistorynow.mdah.state.ms.us/articles/265/index.php?s=extra&id=136.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

The Historical Marker Database

Additional Information