Thomas H. Cooper, a wealthy West Virginia coal operator and former Roanoke College student, decided to relocate and build “a handsome residence” in the town of his alma mater. In April 1903, he bought an 11 acre tract already known as “Longwood,” and construction began the next spring.
Construction was complete by 1905, when the Coopers held a garden party for the town. This was the start of a long string of community & social events held at the mansion or its grounds – from yearly Easter Egg hunts, parties and holiday gatherings, a “county fair” event to raise funds for WW I, etc.
By the 1940s, the Cooper family’s fortunes had changed; the Longwood estate was sold to the town in 1942 to satisfy outstanding taxes & debts of Cooper’s heirs. The town continued & expanded on the existing tradition, establishing the building and grounds as a community gathering place. Boy Scouts, Kiwanis, Lions, America Legion, and a number of town clubs began meeting here regularly. In 1947, the town went to work on the far side of the neighboring cemetery – grading the Oakey tract and establishing a new baseball/softball field, Oakey Field. The Longwood estate became Longwood Park, the towns largest public open area.
Discussions began in the late 1950s towards building a larger meeting hall & auditorium facility on the Longwood estate. A report in 1962 initially recommended a new larger building in place of the Longwood mansion, but by 1963 the plan changed to focus on a large lot on Texas Street. After much debate, Roanoke County and Salem jointly funded the construction of new Civic Center, which opened its doors to the public on September 25, 1967.
Most community organizations moved their meeting places to the new facility; the Longwood mansion found itself sitting mostly idle. On November 19, 1968, a fire broke out in during renovation work of the upper floors; high winds contributed to the flames that gutted the 64-year old Victorian mansion. The city council called the building unsalvageable, and had it demolished.
The home itself was roughly where the parking area is now. The original carriage house & gazebo both still stand. The Roanoke-Salem Chamber of Commerce uses the upper half of the carriage house facility now; the City of Salem uses the lower half for storage.
[Thanks to the writing of Norwood Middleton and John D. Long for historic information.]