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is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the 'Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. The population was 34,660 at the 2000 census. Longview is located in southwestern Washington, at the junction of the Cowlitz and Columbia rivers. Longview shares a border with Kelso to the east.
Located at the confluence of the Cowlitz and Columbia Rivers, the area known as Longview was first settled in the early 1850s. The area remained sparsely populated for nearly 60 years, consisting mostly of farmland and wilderness. In 1918, Missouri timber baron Robert A. Long decided to move his operation out to the west coast, owing to the Long-Bell lumber company's dwindling supplies in the south. By 1921, the decision had been made by Wesley Vandercook to build a mill near the small town of Kelso, Washington. It soon became apparent that Kelso, with a population of barely 2,000 would not be able to support the approximately 14,000 men that would be required to run the mill.
The Long-Bell company contracted with George Kessler, a city planner based in St. Louis, to build the city that would support the two mills that were now planned. Longview was officially incorporated on February 14, 1924. At the time of its conception, Longview was the only planned city of its magnitude to have ever been conceived of and built entirely with private funds. A number of prominent buildings in Longview were purchased with R. A. Long's personal funds, including R. A. Long High School, the Longview Public Library, the YMCA building and the Monticello Hotel.