The first hotel in Longwood was located at the southeast corner of East Warren and Longwood Avenue. Town founder Edward Henck built the wooden structure to handle the influx of prospective settlers and tourists coming down the Sanford-Orlando road via steamboat landing in Sanford.
The structure was built in 1883 and should not be confused with the Longwood Inn. It was sold to Henry Hand.
It occupied roughly the same footprint that the gymnasium complex today occupies; however, it was oriented to face north on Warren Avenue, the main road through town.
This hotel had fewer rooms than the more imposing Longwood Inn, which still exists across the highway. It burned down in the 1890s, but by that time, the newer lodge had already been built, so there was no need to rebuild. Nevertheless, it played an important role in the town’s early history.
