Benjamin Long (March 7, 1838 – June 23, 1877) was a Swiss-born grocer and immigrant to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, where he served as

Mayor of Dallas The Mayor of the City of Dallas is a member of the Dallas City Council and its presiding officer. The current mayor is Eric Johnson (Texas politician), Eric Johnson, who has served one term since 2019 Dallas mayoral election, 2019 and is the 60 ...

between 1868–70 and 1872–74.

Biography

Benjamin Long was born March 7, 1838, in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He married Eugenia De Vleschondere, an immigrant from

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, on 25 March 1862 at the home of Jacob Nussbaumer in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas. They had one son and four daughters.Ohan, Christopher."Ben Long: The Politics of Dallas's Practical Utopian." ''Legacies. A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas'', Vol. 14 (Spring 2002), No. 1, p. 4-11. He emigrated to join of the La Réunion Colony, a utopian community which failed in part because too many of the settlers were skilled craftsmen and not enough were farmers. Many of the settlers moved into Dallas after the colony was dissolved. It was then that Lang changed the spelling of his name to Long. Because he supported the Union against slavery, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Lang moved to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

to avoid becoming involved in the hostilities. Following the Civil War, he was appointed mayor of Dallas by the military government in Austin for the term 1868–1870. He became a naturalized citizen in 1869. He resigned as mayor in April 1870 to return to Switzerland where he encouraged immigration to Texas. He was re-elected for a two-year term 1872–1874, but was defeated for re-election in 1874. Long provided funds for the right of way for the

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. However its lines never went we ...

and helped to secure land for the construction of the depot during his second term in office. He also built an artificial recreation lake, Long's Lake. He was a member of the Tannehill Lodge #52 A.F. and A.M. On June 23, 1877, Benjamin Long was killed by a drunk patron of a Swiss saloon on Austin and Wood streets over a minor disagreement. He was interred at Trinity Cemetery, now known as Greenwood, leaving behind a wife and four young children."The End." ''The Dallas Daily Herald''. June 26, 1877, p. 1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Benjamin 1838 births 1877 deaths People murdered in 1877 19th-century mayors of places in Texas Deaths by firearm in Texas Mayors of Dallas Politicians from Zurich People murdered in Texas Swiss emigrants to the United States