65-612: The Houghton Memorial Building is a historic civic building at 4 Rogers Street in Littleton, Massachusetts . Built in 1895 to a design by Perkins & Betton , this Colonial Revival style housed the local public library for many years. It presently houses the Littleton Historical Society. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 18, 1991. The Houghton Memorial Building occupies
130-482: A Scottish and English means of spreading education; especially in the sciences to the masses came to Littleton when, following the example of Millbury, Salem, and Concord, Littletonians on December 21, 1829, decided, in their words, "to promote mutual improvement" through the formation of the Littleton Lyceum. By the time of its 25th anniversary, the Littleton Lyceum took the form and operation it would have for almost
195-750: A boy twelve years old, the only son of John Tahattawan. For much of the war, the English colonists rounded up the Praying Indians and sent them to Deer Island. When increasing numbers of Massachusetts Bay officers began successfully using Praying Indians as scouts in the war, the sentiment of the white settlers turned. In May 1676, the Massachusetts General Court ordered that Praying Indians be removed from Deer Island. Still, many died of starvation and disease. Upon their release, most survivors moved to Natick and sold their land to white settlers. The town
260-468: A center for horse-dealing and training. In 1894-95, the Houghton Memorial Building was designed by Perkins & Betton and built to house the municipal library. It was a gift from Elizabeth and Clement S. Houghton, he was the son of one of Boston's wealthiest merchants, William S. Houghton. The elder Houghton, a Littleton native, had in 1884 made a bequest to the town for the establishment of
325-559: A century of lectures followed by questions and debate. During the Civil War or shortly thereafter, most lyceums petered out, but not in Littleton. Besides bringing about a brief return to public debating, the War was also long a subject for Lyceum, a venue where veterans lectured about their experiences and travel. In 1840, the community fractured on sectarian lines. As a result the remaining members of
390-472: A commercial dairy, which he sold in 1942 to J. Fred Herpy, a dairyman who had moved to Littleton from Rome, New York . Herpy relocated the pasteurizing business to Great Road in 1952. Business was good in the post-war years, and Herpy's Dairy thrived. On the site of the Great Road plant, Herpy built two large swimming pools, and added a bathhouse, grill and ice cream stand. The pools provided swimming lessons to
455-536: A few farms began to concentrate on dairy production, but Littleton became known for the number of orchards producing apples. Abolitionism and Transcendentalism became popular movements in Littleton during the 1800s and were much discussed at Littleton Lyceum. Several Littleton men served in the Federal forces during the Civil War and are memorialized on a plaque on either side of the Houghton Memorial Building. Further development of stores, shops, and business centered on
520-509: A history of fifteen thousand years over one square mile located within the town. The arrival of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC, later part of Hewlett-Packard ) in the 1970s connected the town to other businesses in the Boston-area high-tech corridor. Digital built a very large facility on King Street near the Common, as well as offices on Porter Road and Foster Street. In 2007, IBM purchased
585-523: A large scale to supply produce for Haymarket in Boston. While earlier commercial market gardens had sprung up along the railways, motor transport allowed the formation of produce wholesalers in outlying cities such as Fitchburg and Lowell which signed contracts with local farmers to provide goods on a daily basis for sale in Haymarket. The trucks would leave the yards and drive down the state roads buying produce from
650-471: A library collection in honor of Reuben Hoar, who had financially assisted his father in a difficult time. Littleton continued to grow through the twentieth century. Prior to World War I , the mill at the common moved into the manufacturing of military webbing to supply the US Armed Forces. The advent of the war drew more people to town to work in the mill. Young men from Littleton also left to serve during
715-404: A light-colored terra cotta. Its main entrance is in a pavilion 2-1/2 stories in height that projects from the northern end of the west side. It has a fully pedimented gable with modillions and dentil molding. The entrance is set in a round-arch opening, flanked by windows set in lower round-arch openings, with a three-part Palladian window on the second level. Courses of terra cotta extend around
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#1732884114893780-490: A pension, was a frequent visitor to Hagley Hall . Joseph Warton he appointed his domestic chaplain and it was at his suggestion that David Mallet was made undersecretary to the Prince of Wales. Lyttelton's own poetic reputation was guaranteed continuity by his work being included in the collection of English poets prefaced by Johnson's Lives . Variously annotated and augmented, the collection appeared in succeeding editions into
845-454: A slow pace. It became known for its apple orchards and the cider produced in town. The Warren Gristmill changed over to operating as a sawmill in the second decade. In 1822, Baptists in town decided to create their own society and build a church at the corner of King Street and Goldsmith Street. This was influenced by Unitarianism beginning to take hold in New England. The lyceum movement ,
910-423: A speaker as "a great flow of words that were always uttered in a lulling monotony, and the little meaning they had to boast of was generally borrowed from the commonplace maxims and sentiments of moralists, philosophers, patriots, and poets, crudely imbibed, half digested, ill put together, and confusedly refunded". Lord Lyttelton was a friend and supporter of Alexander Pope in the 1730s and of Henry Fielding in
975-583: A station in North Littleton by Forge Pond. Just over the line in North Acton, there was also a passenger station with service on the Framingham and Lowell Railroad beginning in 1871. With the railroads, local farmers grew in response to the availability of transport for their produce to markets in Boston. Some of the local farmers located along the rail line began to diversify their crops for sale in Haymarket,
1040-410: A triangular parcel of land at the junction of King and Foster Streets, southwest of Littleton's modern center. King Street ( Massachusetts Route 2A ) passes north of the building and Rogers Street is a short spur joining it to Foster Street. This area was historically the town center, and the building occupies a highly prominent position. It is a 1-1/2 story building, constructed out of yellow brick and
1105-618: The Lettres Chinoises (1735) of Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens , both of which had been translated soon after into English. Another work with prior French counterparts was Lyttelton's Dialogues of the Dead (1760). Though these had Classical precedents, the more immediate models were François Fénelon 's Dialogues des morts anciens et modernes and Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle 's Nouveaux Dialogues des morts , which had also appeared in popular English translations as Dialogues of
1170-554: The bluestocking leader Elizabeth Montagu to write (Dialogues 26–8). All of Lyttelton's writing was collected shortly after his death by his nephew, G. E. Ayscough. In 1791 an edition of his poems appeared in Germany accompanied by J. G. Weigel's prose translations. During his lifetime Lyttelton's Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul was translated into French in 1750 by Jean Deschamps (1707–67) and again in 1754 by
1235-448: The "shades of Hagley" in the fifth stanza. Anna Seward , in answer to a correspondent who preferred Lyttelton's ode to the newly fashionable sonnet, ingeniously rearranged the lines of the poem into a series of sonnets, in which the "shades of Hagley" passage headed the second. And William Gladstone acknowledged that his Church Principles was "completed beneath the shades of Hagley" as late as 1840. Despite his long political career, it
1300-659: The 1730s, opposed the Prime Minister Robert Walpole . He served as secretary to Frederick, Prince of Wales from 1737, and then, after Walpole's fall, as a Commissioner of the Treasury in 1744. That year too he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society . Lyttelton was made a Privy Councillor in 1754 and in the following year became briefly Chancellor of the Exchequer , but performed poorly in that role. In 1756 he
1365-494: The 1750s; the latter dedicated his novel Tom Jones to Lyttelton. He had written his "Epistle to Mr. Pope, from a young gentleman at Rome" while still on the European tour, advising him to abandon satire for a patriotic theme more worthy of his greatness. Later on the poem was used to preface editions of Pope's work. Throughout his life, he acted as a friendly patron of poets. James Thomson , for whom Lyttelton eventually arranged
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#17328841148931430-488: The 1950s and 1960s in a kind of suburbanization after leaving their more dense, first and second-generation neighborhoods in Arlington, East Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, and Somerville. Due to its location between Fort Devens and Hanscom AFB , Littleton has been a popular location for military retirees from the 1960s to the present day. Author John Hanson Mitchell wrote a book titled Ceremonial Time (1984), which details
1495-607: The 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on the neighborhood of Littleton Common, please see the article Littleton Common , Massachusetts . Littleton was the site of the sixth Praying Indian village established by John Eliot in 1645 consisting of mainly Native Americans of the Massachusett tribes. It was called Nashoba Plantation, on the land between Lake Nagog and Fort Pond. The term "Praying Indian" referred to Native Americans who had been converted to Christianity. Daniel Gookin , in his Historical Collections of
1560-486: The Abbé Antoine Guénée (1717–1803); his Dialogues of the Dead was also translated into French in 1760 as Dialogues des morts by Élie de Joncourt (1697–1765) and Jean Deschamps. Lyttelton spent many years and a fortune developing Hagley Hall and its park , which contained many follies as well as memorials to the poets Milton, Pope, Thomson and the neighbouring landscaper William Shenstone . Also included among
1625-611: The Battle Road on April 19, 1775. The militia company and the minutemen squads mustered at Liberty Square located on the southwest side of town on the Boxborough line (then part of Littleton). They marched from there through what is now Boxborough Depot and over Littleton Rd/Boxborough Rd to Newtown Road (Littleton), up over Fort Pond Hill (stopping briefly at the Choate Farm) and along Newtown Rd (Acton) to Acton Center. From there they marched
1690-598: The Common and the now growing Depot. By the common, the Conant Houghton Co. Mill was erected in 1880. Initially, it processed apple products, but moved into the production of clothing and military equipment in the late 1890s. In 1885, the quarantine station for the Port of Boston moved from Waltham to a farm on the Fitchburg railway line on the south west side of Mill Pond. Used to clear wild and domestic animals and made Littleton
1755-534: The Dead . The themes treated in Lyttelton's are political, literary and philosophical, although the characters sometimes stray from their expected role. Joseph Addison and Jonathan Swift 's conversation is of politics, while Charles XII of Sweden proposes to Alexander the Great an alliance against Alexander Pope for insulting them both in a satire. Included among these conversations were three that Lyttleton had encouraged
1820-606: The Depot. While in Somerville, Arthur Rowse, known for integrity and honesty, had refused to do business with bootleggers in a state where Prohibition was overwhelmingly unpopular. He continued his refusal after moving to Littleton. Due to the Yankee character of the town, it was notably dry during Prohibition. Although Prohibition was repealed in 1933, Littleton did not permit the sale of alcohol again until 1960, and then in just two locations,
1885-619: The General Court ordered the Indians at Nashoba to be interned in Concord. A short while later, some Concord residents who were hostile to the Nashoba solicited some militia to remove them to Deer Island . Around this time, fourteen armed men of Chelmsford went to the outlying camp at Wameset (near Forge Pond) and opened fire on the unsuspecting Nashoba, wounding five women and children, and killing outright
1950-421: The Indians in New England , (1674) chapter vii. says: Nashobah is the sixth praying Indian town. This village is situated, in a manner, in the centre, between Chelmsford, Lancaster, Groton and Concord. It lieth from Boston about twenty-five miles west north west. The inhabitants are about ten families, and consequently about fifty souls. At the time of King Philip's War between the English and Native Americans,
2015-536: The Isaac Davis Trail to Old North Bridge . Some writing suggests that the minutemen sped ahead to join the other minutemen at the bridge. In 1782, the third request to incorporate as a separate town by the residents of present day Boxborough was granted by the General Court and incorporated on February 25, 1783, taking away almost a quarter of Littleton's area on the south abutting Stow and Harvard. In 1795,
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2080-637: The Johnson's store at the Depot and the Nashoba Package store at Donelan's shopping center. Only in the late 1980s, with the building of DEC's King Street facility, was a bar allowed to open in town (this later became Ken's American Cafe, which closed in December 2008. It was followed by what is now the Chip Shot on Ayer Road). For years, residents could go to establishments just over the town line that served alcohol, in
2145-633: The King Street facility from Hewlett-Packard and announced that it would become its main New England location. In 2014, Littleton embarked on a year of celebration for its 300th anniversary. In 2022, the Boston Globe reported that the Littleton mill had the highest concentration of federally-licensed firearms dealers in the United States. According to the United States Census Bureau ,
2210-549: The Littleton Historical Society. In November 2021, the Ruben Hoar Library moved to 35 Shattuck Street. In fiscal year 2008, the town of Littleton spent 1.5% ($ 432,744) of its budget on its public library—approximately $ 49 per person, per year ($ 60.01 adjusted for inflation in 2021). George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton , PC (17 January 1709 – 22 August 1773), known between 1751 and 1756 as Sir George Lyttelton, 5th Baronet ,
2275-459: The Unitarian Church) at a cost of £900. This would be the community's only house of worship for the remainder of the 1700s. Construction of Warren's Grist Mill (abutting 495 at the junction of Grist Mill Rd and Warren St) began in 1750. This mill processed the crops produced by the town residents through the eighteenth century. Residents of Littleton contributed men to the militia system that
2340-413: The age of 18 living with them, 64.0% were married couples living together, 22.1% had a female householder with no spouse present, 10.3% had a male householder with no spouse present, and 3.6% were non-families. Of all households 19.6% were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.16. Of
2405-401: The building, separating the basement level from the first floor, and the first from the second. Windows on the first floor are typically round-arch sash. The building's interior has retained a significant degree of original material. The building was designed by Perkins & Betton and built in 1894-95 to house the municipal library. It was a gift from Elizabeth and Clement S. Houghton, he
2470-457: The commissioners of the treasury [one time Chancellor of the Exchequer ], and that in acknowledgment he sent from England a church-bell as a present to the town but on account of the error in spelling by substituting "i " for "y," the present was withheld by the person having it in charge, who gave the excuse that no such town as Lyttleton could be found, and sold the bell." The few survivors of Nashobah Plantation had extreme difficulty in reviving
2535-410: The farms for resale in town. Almost all truck farms kept a portion of their produce for sale at their roadside stands. The farms in Littleton were operated by a mix of older Yankee residents and newer Irish, Italian, Quebecois, and Greek families who had bought the farms as a commercial venture. One can see what most of Route 2A looked like running in through Acton, Concord, Lexington, and Arlington during
2600-549: The first two-thirds of the century by looking at present day, Route 119 moving northwest from Beaver Brook Road. Arthur Rowse bought Standard Vinegar Co. in Somerville , in 1865 in 1900, changed the name to New England Vinegar Works in 1907. In 1919, he added the Veryfine brand name for pasteurized apple juice. He moved the company to Littleton, Massachusetts, in 1930 to be closer to Massachusetts' apple orchards, setting up his plant at
2665-415: The population 23.2% were under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males. The median household income was $ 123,413 and the median family income was $ 143,233. About 2.4% of families and 3.6% of
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2730-541: The population were below the poverty line , including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over. The public Reuben Hoar Library first opened in 1887. In 1895, the Houghton Memorial Building was constructed, and the Reuben Hoar Library moved into it. The library, still named in honor of Reuben Hoar, moved to 41 Shattuck Street in 1991, and the Houghton Memorial Building then housed
2795-435: The residents of Littleton and surrounding towns. By the last year the pools were open, 1968, over a thousand children learned to swim at Herpy's. It closed a year later, in response to Littleton's expansion of alcohol sales. Like many towns along the state roads radiating from Boston, the advent of motor transport saw the arrival of truck farms which sprang up along Route 119/2A. These were market gardens that were operated on
2860-411: The son of one of Boston's wealthiest merchants, William S. Houghton. The elder Houghton, a Littleton native, had in 1884 made a bequest to the town for the establishment of a library collection in honor of Reuben Hoar, who had financially assisted his father in a difficult time. The Shingle style building erected by that bequest stood at the site of the present town hall, and also housed town offices. It
2925-508: The south and east. The meetinghouse of the town moved from the area of Newtown to eastern triangle of the Town Common in 1717. Sarah Doublet, the last Praying Indian, passed on in 1736. New neighboring towns formed from larger towns abutting Littleton. West Chelmsford soon grew large enough to sustain its own governance, and was officially incorporated as Westford on September 23, 1729, A new town including parts of Lancaster , Groton, and Stow
2990-454: The start of the 19th century. The monody "To the Memory of a Lady lately Deceased", written on the death of his first wife, had an even longer lasting reputation. Though Thomas Gray found "parts of it too stiff and poetical", he especially praised the fourth stanza as "truly tender and elegiac". The poem was alluded to or parodied by others well into the 19th century, particularly the invocation of
3055-509: The surrounding Acton, Westford, Groton, Ayer, and Boxborough. Littleton has remained a predominantly Yankee town, with the bulk of the population belonging to the Congregational Church of Littleton, The First Baptist Church, and First Church Unitarian churches. In the post- World War II era, Roman Catholic immigrants from Ireland, Quebec, Canada, and Italy moved into Middlesex County and Littleton. The Roman Catholic parish of St. Anne's
3120-403: The town built its first public schools which served the children of Littleton until 1870: According to local lore, the town had a contingent of Loyalists who remained after the revolution and thwarted attempts to rename King Street as Main, Washington, or Adams streets. This has been the source of ribbing from neighboring towns, who call Littleton a Tory town. During the 1800s, Littleton grew at
3185-408: The town has a total area of 17.5 square miles (45 km ), of which 16.6 square miles (43 km ) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km ) (5.30%) is water. Littleton borders the following towns: Groton , Westford , Acton , Boxborough , Harvard , and Ayer . At the 2020 census , there were 10,141 people, 3,657 households and 2,218 families residing in the town. The population density
3250-506: The town meetinghouse, now Unitarians, realized that they needed a larger building and funded it by selling pews to the members. The Orthodox Congregational Society funded their building in the same manner the same year, 1841. The two churches have occupied their locations on Foster and King Streets to the present day. The industrial revolution continued in Littleton with the arrival of the Fitchburg Railroad in 1844. The original station
3315-423: The village. The few that returned intermarried with some of the English settlers who had bought land from them and quickly outnumbered the natives. The new community petitioned the legislature and incorporated as a town in 1714 with its limits (including modern Boxborough ) bounded by the existing towns of The Plantation of Groton to the west, Chelmsford to the north, Stow to the south and west, and Concord to
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#17328841148933380-624: The visitor remarks that "Marriage here is esteemed a Religious Ceremony, and that I believe is one Reason among others why so little Regard is paid to it". Oliver Goldsmith was later to borrow the same approach for his Chinese philosopher in Letters from a Citizen of the World to his Friends in the East (1760). There were, nevertheless, French models for both in the Lettres Persanes of Montesquieu (1721) and
3445-512: The war. Upon their return, they founded the two veterans' posts, American Legion Post 249 and VFW Post 6556. With the advent of the automobile, Littleton saw two more expansions of agri-business. The existing dairy farms grew larger and became commercial. Cloverdale Farm/Dell Dale Farm, on Mannion Place off Great Road edging up to the shores of Lake Nagog, became a well-known local dairy operating until 1986, first by John Mannion and then Thomas and William Byrne from Hopedale. Herbert Whitcomb also ran
3510-472: Was 492.5 inhabitants per square mile (190.2/km ). There were 3,889 housing units at an average density of 183.8 per square mile (71.0/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 80.71% White , 1.34% African American , 0.15% Native American , 8.17% Asian , 0.02% Pacific Islander , 1.33% from other races , and 5.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.25% of the population. There were 3,657 households, of which 23.2% had children under
3575-558: Was a British statesman . As an author himself, he was also a supporter of other writers and as a patron of the arts made an important contribution to the development of 18th-century landscape design . Lord Lyttelton was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Lyttelton, 4th Baronet , of Frankley, in the County of Worcester, by his wife Christian, daughter of Sir Richard Temple, 3rd Baronet . Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford , he afterwards went on grand tour , visiting Europe with his tutor. It
3640-460: Was a major local landmark until its destruction by fire in 1943. The library, still named in honor of Reuben Hoar, moved to 41 Shattuck Street in 1991, and the Houghton Memorial Building then housed the Littleton Historical Society. Littleton, Massachusetts Littleton (historically Nashoba ) is a town in Middlesex County , Massachusetts , United States. The population was 10,141 at
3705-495: Was as a poet that Lyttelton was chiefly remembered in the 19th century. But he was author also of many works in prose, chiefly historical and theological. Two, however, are distinguished by their humour. Letters from a Persian in England, to his Friend at Ispahan (1735) ironically comments on the idiosyncrasies of the time from the naïve point of view of an outsider. On attending a wedding ceremony in "one of their Mosques", for example,
3770-482: Was built in 1845. A new train station was erected in 1879 and was used until it closed in 1970. This line served to be influential in the development of the town. Commuter service into North Station along this line began in the 1880s. The Fitchburg was not the only railroad to arrive and serve Littleton in the Nineteenth Century. The Stony Brook Railroad line running from present day Ayer to Chelmsford maintained
3835-450: Was during this time that he started publishing his early works in both poetry and prose. Even after he was elected to Parliament in 1735, he continued to publish from time to time. In 1742 he married Lucy, daughter of Hugh Fortescue , and following her death in 1747 he later married Elizabeth, daughter of Field Marshal Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet , in 1749. He died in August 1773, aged 64, and
3900-798: Was established in 1947 and is currently the largest congregation in town. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints established a chapel in 1979. In 1956, the Church of Christ was built on Harwood Avenue. It disbanded in 1985 due to the closing of Ft. Devens and the resultant dwindling membership. Many of the early families are represented by descendants in the town to the present day: Blanchard, Bulkeley, Crane, Hartwell, Hathaway, Kimball, and Whitcomb. The neighborhoods around Mill Pond (also known as Lake Warren): Long Lake, Forge Village, and Spectacle Pond, include numerous summer cottages or "camps" that have been converted into year-round residences. Many ethnic Irish, Italian, Québécois, and Finnish families moved here in
3965-461: Was incorporated in 1732 as Harvard . A large section of West Concord won approval of the General Court and incorporated as Acton on July 3, 1735. Through the 1700s, new towns Littleton like most towns was served by several taverns, which were a fixture of small New England towns through to the early twentieth century: In 1742, the Meetinghouse was moved to a new building (the present site of
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#17328841148934030-528: Was raised to the peerage as Lord Lyttelton, Baron of Frankley in the County of Worcester, and continued to speak in the House of Lords until the year before he died. Lyttelton was later described as "an amiable, absent-minded man, of unimpeachable integrity and benevolent character, with strong religious convictions and respectable talents", but ultimately as "a poor practical politician". His political opponent Lord Hervey spitefully characterised his performance as
4095-605: Was set up by the Crown to serve as self-defense against hostile First Nations peoples as well as the French in Canada. Men from Littleton served in the primarily Provincial Army that captured Louisbourg in 1745. This militia system evolved into the organization that confronted the British Regulars on April 18, 1775. The minutemen and militia of Littleton marched and fought at Concord and
4160-478: Was settled by Anglo-European settlers in 1686 and was officially incorporated by act of the Massachusetts General Court on November 2, 1715. It was part of the Puritan and later Congregational culture and religion of New England. In his book, An Historical Sketch Town of Littleton (1890), Herbert Joseph Harwood wrote: It is said that the name Littleton was given as a compliment to Hon. George Lyttleton, M.P. , one of
4225-575: Was succeeded as baron by his eldest son, Thomas . Though Samuel Johnson 's biographical notice of Lyttelton is characterised by a conspicuous show of dislike, it diverges at the end into a long description of his exemplary death and the plain inscription he asked to have added to his first wife's monument in St John the Baptist Church, Hagley . Lyttelton was Member of Parliament (MP) for Okehampton from 1735 to 1756 and, as one of Cobham's Cubs during
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