The town is located in the Shire of Strathbogie local government area, 149 kilometres (93 mi) from the state capital, Melbourne.

[2] Longwood was first located on the old Sydney to Melbourne Highway (in the paddocks at Fred Tubb's farm) serving as a staging post for the horse-drawn coaches.

The town moved east by around 4 km when the railway was built and a station established at Longwood.

The town is home to one hotel, The White Hart, moved to its current location on the corner of Down and Hill Streets when the Melbourne-Sydney train line was constructed around 1880.

The town was the birthplace of World War I veterans, Victoria Cross recipient Frederick Harold Tubb,[5] Lieutenant-Colonel Aubrey Roy Liddon Wiltshire[6] and Army Medical Officer, Sir Charles Ryan[7][8] and his sister, botanical artist Ellis Rowan, both at "Killeen Station".