Stephen H. Long
Stephen H. Long was a member of the well-known Long family of Hopkinton and first cousin of William H. Long for whom our building is named. Born in Hopkinton in 1784, Stephen Long graduated from Dartmouth College in 1809 and went on to serve a long and distinguished career as a topographical engineer in the U.S. Army. From 1818 to 1823, Colonel Long had charge of governmental explorations of the territory between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. The location depicted in this painting of Long, then a Major, is probably near Old Council Bluffs on the Missouri River, during his first western expedition. He went on to head four more expeditions, covering 26,000 miles.
This photographic copy of the original portrait of Long was given to the Antiquarian Society by Dan Hynes of Hynes Fine Art in Chicago who contacted the Society for information after he acquired the original in 1993. The artist has been identified as possibly Titian R. Peale, son of Charles Willson Peale. The younger Peale was an assistant naturalist and artist on Long’s 1819 – 1820 expedition. Thus the plantings one sees in the painting are accurate depictions of flora of the area.
The sword in Long’s left hand is now in the collection of The National Museum of American History of The Smithsonian Institution, and was given to Long in 1820 by "his friends in Philadelphia on his return from the first Government survey in the Rocky Mountains."
While Long lived in many places during his life, his roots in Hopkinton meant that he returned here from time to time. He was instrumental in the construction of improved bridges in this area. Also, according to C.C. Lord’s history of Hopkinton, he "was the principal mover in the local attempt at successful silk manufacture." "The draining of the village Frog-pond was also a special result of his