Greenwood

In rural Longwood, nature and the outdoors dominate life. The vast community, located west of Shreveport and just against the Louisiana and Texas border, is around 8 miles long from end to end, but it only includes less than 600 homes. “It's very secluded,” says Antonio Zavarce, a local real estate agent and team lead of Hello House. “It’s very quiet, and the families who have lived there for years continue to live there.” Folks looking to trade off on nearby conveniences for acreage will find those opportunities in Longwood. Properties often branch off from narrow, wooded country roads, with an average lot size of about an acre and a half. House hunters could find a manufactured home on about an acre for around $135,000, a wood-clad cabin with a four-stall barn on 5 acres for about $275,000, or a farmhouse on 11 acres for around $325,000. Though it’s a good place to find a deal, Zavarce says that the time houses in Longwood spend on the market before selling has been longer than in surrounding areas. “Even during the heat of the pandemic, when interest rates were 2.7%, they were taking longer to sell.” When residents want to enjoy the great outdoors outside of their own properties, the biggest neighborhood park is the Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park, though it is currently closed for renovations. When it reopens in 2025, the new state-of-the-art facility will offer interactive exhibits, classrooms, a bird aviary, and event space, among other features. Until then, residents can enjoy outdoor activities at Richard Fleming Park, which is located on Cross Lake and offers boat ramps, a fishing pier, and a 60-foot dock, or the American Rose Center, the country’s largest park dedicated to roses. Residents can take in the sights and scents on the walking trails, pack a picnic lunch, and take the little ones to the playground. The central business in the neighborhood is the Longwood General Store and Casino, a small, friendly establishment that serves up sandwiches, burgers, and Southern fare like chicken fried steak. Residents may also find small farms nearby, like Morell Dairy Farm, for fresh groceries like eggs, milk, and butter. Aside from that, residents need to leave Longwood for most shopping and dining needs. Those in the lower portion of Longwood may prefer to shop and eat in Waskom, a small Texas community that is within 5 miles of many homes. Others may need to travel between 10 and 12 miles to reach larger shopping and dining destinations in Blanchard, like Walmart Supercenter. Caddo Parish Public Schools serves the neighborhood. Students attend schools like Turner Elementary/Middle School and Huntington High School, both rated C-minus by Niche. Students at Huntington High can apply for the school’s magnet program, which includes pathways in law, business, or STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). Residents may head to events in neighboring towns, like movie nights in Mooringsport or festivals and farmers markets in Blanchard. Christmas in Roseland is a magical time when the American Rose Center is transformed into a winter wonderland, and the venue offers a rotating schedule of events. Art in the Park is a large event often held at the Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park, though the facility and its event space are currently under renovation. This event celebrates art and nature and features handmade goods from local artists, art workshops, artist demonstrations, live music, and plenty of food. Residents can also head to weekly and special events at Boothill Speedway on the neighborhood's southern end. There’s no public transportation in Longwood. Access to Interstate 20 may be between 5 and 15 miles from home, depending on where exactly in the neighborhood home is.