Francis Reid Long (May 19, 1812 – June 22, 1881) was Kansas City Mayor in 1869 and founder of what would become Commerce Bancshares.

Biography

Long was born in

Woodford County, Kentucky Woodford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,871. Its county seat is Versailles. The area was home to Pisgah Academy. Woodford County is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metrop ...

After moving to Kansas City he joined with Nathaniel Grant and A.S. Branham to found the Long, Grant & Company which in turn would become the Kansas City Savings Association. During Long's term the

Hannibal Bridge The First Hannibal Bridge was the first permanent rail crossing of the Missouri River and helped establish Kansas City, Missouri as a major city and rail center. The increased train traffic resulting from its construction also contributed to the ...

—the first bridge to cross the Missouri River—opened. The bridge would establish Kansas City as the dominant city in the region. With the bridge came the founding of the Kansas City Stockyards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Francis 1812 births 1881 deaths People from Woodford County, Kentucky Mayors of Kansas City, Missouri Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Kansas City, Missouri) 19th-century American politicians