The town was named for Lucious Walter Long, the husband of Carrie M. Millerman, who had obtained a homestead in the
Cheyenne-Arapaho Opening of April 19, 1892. The two married and made her homestead the town site. They donated on the north side of their property to the Union Real Estate and Townsite Company, while retaining the southern side themselves, which they divided into residential and commercial lots. The Longs wanted to name their new community Longview, but agreed to change to Longdale to avoid confusion with the already existing community of Fairview. Historians have sometimes confused Longdale with Cainville. The latter was north of Longdale, and already had a post office, where the residents of Longdale could receive their mail. The Cainville post office was discontinued and moved to Longdale on November 28, 1903, with Robert L. Eaton as the new postmaster. On October 23, 1903, G. W. published the first edition of his newspaper, the
Longdale Register. The Longs already had sold part of their property to the
Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway, which finally reached Longdale on June 10, 1905. Carrie Millerman became the first teacher when a school opened November 30, 1894, in a temporary location north of Longdale. A new school building opened in Longdale on November 5, 1906, replacing the temporary facility. By the first census in 1910, Longdale had a population of 296. ==Geography==