Niemeyer
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Longwood Narrowly Averted a Great Fire
Most cities during Florida’s wood-framed pioneer days experienced devastating fires. For example, the 1887 Great Sanford Fire destroyed most of the town’s earliest buildings. Oviedo’s struck in 1914. Thankfully, this never happened in Longwood, and because of this, there are many examples of pre-1900 buildings in the historic district. However, that fate was only narrowly avoided. On September 30, 1899, the townspeople of Longwood hurried to the scene of a blaze at the Florida Midland Railroad depot (north of The Shoppes at Longwood Station Plaza today). Sparks from a northbound freight train ignited the train platform. Since there was no…
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Clouser-Niemeyer-Bistline Family
This illustrates the genealogy that led to the connection of these three famous Longwood families. ____________________ _____________| Josiah Benjamin | | Elizabeth || Clouser | <-m-> | Clouser || 1838-1920 |(cousins)| 1846-1910 ||____________________| | |_____________| | _______________ |________________ | Fred Niemeyer | <-m-> | Frances Clouser || 1864-1924 | | | 1870-1953 ||_______________| | |_________________| | ___________|___ ____________ | Addie | | John Aaron | | Neimeyer | <-m-> | Bistline | | 1889-1965 | | 1889-1978 | |_____________| |____________|
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Niemeyer House
Fred J. Niemeyer moved to Longwood in 1885. He met and married the daughter of master carpenter Josiah Clouser, Frances Catherine Clouser Niemeyer. The home was constructed for the couple in 1889, and built as a collaboration by Fred and Josiah. They called it “Keystone” because it was such a prominent structure in town. The Niemeyer family resided there for many years. The Hopkins family moved into the home in 1952 and resided there for many decades. It became known as the “Hopkins House” and had a sign over the front porch with that name up until the early 2010s. The original…