Long, Somme
Encyclopedia
Long is a commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....

 department in Picardie
Picardie
Picardy is one of the 27 regions of France. It is located in the northern part of France.-History:The historical province of Picardy stretched from north of Noyon to Calais, via the whole of the Somme department and the north of the Aisne department...

 in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Geography

Long is situated on the D32 and the D112 crossroads, some 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Abbeville
Abbeville
Abbeville is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Location:Abbeville is located on the Somme River, from its modern mouth in the English Channel, and northwest of Amiens...

 in a part of the valley of the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....

 that is filled by lakes and ponds.

Population

style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0.5em"|Population history
1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006
640 648 606 574 575 624 666
Starting in 1962: Population without duplicates

Church of St. Jean-Baptiste

The first church was built here in the 12th century and must have been quite small compared to the present-day building. Another church replaced the original in the 15th century. During the 19th century, as the population of the town had grown to 1800 people, another church had to be built, though the bell-tower of the original was incorporated within the new building, which was completed in 1851.

The hydro-electric plant

In 1900, the municipal council decided to build an electricity generating plant, powered by the waters of the Somme. Inaugurated three years later on the 7th June 1903, the three turbine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...

s provided electricity at 120 volts DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...

 for the entire village, at little charge. It also provided running water to every home too.

By 1968, the world had caught up and overtaken the generators at Long. A 220volt supply from the national grid ( and, for the first time, electricity bills ) arrived in the commune. The plant continued to pump water until 1974. The building now houses a museum.

The Château at Long

The 18th century château, in pink brick and white stone, with a mansart
Mansart
Mansart may refer to:*François Mansart , French architect*Jules Hardouin Mansart , French architect, his grandnephew...

 roof, was built on the site of an earlier medieval castle.

During the Second World War, the building was badly damaged by occupying troops, who burnt doors, windows and flooring.

Lovingly restored during the 1960s, the building is now open to the public.

External links

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