Littleton, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
Littleton is a town in Middlesex County
, Massachusetts
, United States
. The population was 8,924 at the 2010 census.
For geographic and demographic information on the neighborhood of Littleton Common, please see the article Littleton Common
, Massachusetts
.
The town was also the location of the sixth Praying Indian
village established by John Eliot called Nashoba Plantation, on the land between Lake Nagog and Fort Pond. Daniel Gookin
, in his Historical Collections of the Indians in New England, (1674) chapter vii. says:
At the time of King Phillip's War, the General Court ordered the Indians at Nashoba to be interned in Concord. A short while later, Concordians 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 the only son of John Tahattawan, a boy twelve years old. During this war, the Indians were rounded up and sent to Deer Island, where most subsequently perished of starvation and disease. Upon their release, most survivors moved to Natick and sold their land to white settlers.
In his book, An Historical Sketch Town of Littleton (1890), Herbert Joseph Harwood wrote:
The minutemen
and militia
of Littleton marched and fought at Concord and 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 the Isaac Davis Trail to Old North Bridge. Some writing suggests that the minutemen sped ahead to join the other minutemen at the bridge.
The town, according to local lore, did have a contingent of Loyalists who remained in town 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 calling Littleton a Tory town.
Author John Hanson Mitchell wrote a book titled Ceremonial Time which details a history of fifteen thousand years over one square mile located within the town.
Despite the influx of Roman Catholic immigrants from Ireland, Canada, and Italy into Middlesex County, Littleton 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. The Roman Catholic parish of St. Anne's was established in 1947 followed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1979. In 1956 the Church of Christ on Harwood Ave. was built, but disbanded in 1985 due to the closing of Ft. Devens and resultant dwindling membership.
The arrival of Digital Equipment Corp. (now part of Hewlett-Packard
) in the 1970s made the town part of the Boston-area high-tech corridor. It 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 the King Street facility from Hewlett-Packard and announced it would become its main New England location.
Due to the Yankee character of the town, it was notedly dry during Prohibition
and the Rowse family, which then owned New England Apple Products (later Veryfine
), were known for their integrity and honesty characterized by their refusal to do business with bootleggers in a state where Prohibition was overwhelmingly unpopular. Alcohol was first allowed to be sold in Littleton in 1960 in two locations, 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 (later Ken's American Cafe, which closed in December 2008, and followed by what is now the Chip Shot on Ayer Road). For years there were establishments that served alcohol just over the town line in Acton, Westford, Groton, Ayer, and Boxborough.
Many of the early settling families have remained in the town to 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 of the Irish, Italian, Québécois, and Finnish families ended up moving to Littleton in the 1950s and 1960s after coming out from their neighborhoods in Arlington, East Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, and Somerville.
Due to its location between Fort Devens
and Hanscom AFB
, Littleton became a popular location for military retirees from the 1960s to the present day.
At the same time, new construction went up along New Estate Road, Whitcomb Ave, and Tahattawan Road. From 1955 through 1965, Snow Village (off Great Road about a quarter mile before Power Road—formerly Snake Hill Road), Edsel Road (Kimball land behind the current Post Office running up the hill on the right of Goldmith Street), and lower Hartwell Ave (in the subdivision abutted by the cemetery, King St, and Hartwell Ave) were built with ranch houses and larger Capes.
In the late 60s and early 1970s, stretches along Harvard Road, Taylor Street, Liberty Square, Foster Street, Mill Road, and Grist Mill Road saw some of the first split-levels and five-bedroom Colonials go up.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the farms between Hartwell Ave and Great Road were developed along with upper Hartwell Ave. In this period, the livery stable at the corner of Coughlin Road and Newtown Road sold off more than half of its land to developers.
In the late 80s and early 90s, the horse farms along Russell Street off Great Road closed and were developed as well as some of the horse farms off Harwood by the quarantine station.
The turn of the century has seen further building of quite large Colonials along Great Road, on Fort Pond Hill, and along Beaver Brook Road.
IBM
moved their New England corporate center to Littleton in mid 2008.
, the town has a total area of is 17.5 square miles (45.3 km²). 16.6 square miles (43 km²) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²) of it (5.30%) is water.
Littleton borders the following towns: Groton
, Westford
, Acton
, Boxborough
, Harvard
, and Ayer
.
of 2000, there were 8,184 people, 2,960 households, and 2,217 families residing in the town. The population density
was 492.5 PD/sqmi. There were 3,055 housing units at an average density of 183.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 96.49% White, 0.34% African American, 0.07% Native American, 1.71% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races
, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.97% of the population.
There were 2,960 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.6% were married couples
living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% were non-families. 19.6% of all households 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.
In the town the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $71,384, and the median income for a family was $83,365. Males had a median income of $54,097 versus $43,966 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $31,070. About 2.4% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
service from Boston's North Station is provided by the MBTA with a stop in Littleton
on its Fitchburg Line
. Other transportation services in Littleton are provided by the regional transit authority MART
.
Freight
travels daily through Littleton over the tracks of the historic Stony Brook Railroad. The line currently serves as a major corridor
of Pan Am Railway's
District 3 which connects New Hampshire
and Maine
with western Massachusetts
, Vermont
, and New York
.
Tim Armstron, AOL
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge* Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Longfellow National Historic Site* Lowell National Historical Park* Minute Man National Historical Park* Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 8,924 at the 2010 census.
For geographic and demographic information on the neighborhood of Littleton Common, please see the article Littleton Common
Littleton Common, Massachusetts
Littleton Common is a census-designated place in the town of Littleton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,816 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Littleton Common is located at ....
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
History
The schools tell their students that, originally supposed to be called "Lyttleton", the town's name gained its current spelling due to a misspelling in the newspaper. Littleton was first settled by white settlers in 1686 and was officially incorporated by act of the Massachusetts General Court on November 2, 1714.The town was also the location of the sixth Praying Indian
Praying Indian
Praying Indian is a 17th century term referring to Native Americans of New England who converted to Christianity. While many groups are referred to by this term, it is more commonly used for tribes that were organized into villages, known as praying towns by Puritan leader John Eliot.In 1646, the...
village established by John Eliot called Nashoba Plantation, on the land between Lake Nagog and Fort Pond. Daniel Gookin
Daniel Gookin
Major-General Daniel Gookin was a settler of Virginia and Massachusetts, and a writer on the subject of American Indians.-Early life:...
, in his Historical Collections of 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 Phillip's War, the General Court ordered the Indians at Nashoba to be interned in Concord. A short while later, Concordians 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 the only son of John Tahattawan, a boy twelve years old. During this war, the Indians were rounded up and sent to Deer Island, where most subsequently perished of starvation and disease. Upon their release, most survivors moved to Natick and sold their land to white settlers.
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 the commissioners of the treasury, 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 minutemen
Minutemen
Minutemen were members of teams of select men from the American colonial partisan militia during the American Revolutionary War. They provided a highly mobile, rapidly deployed force that allowed the colonies to respond immediately to war threats, hence the name.The minutemen were among the first...
and militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
of Littleton marched and fought at Concord and 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 the Isaac Davis Trail to Old North Bridge. Some writing suggests that the minutemen sped ahead to join the other minutemen at the bridge.
The town, according to local lore, did have a contingent of Loyalists who remained in town 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 calling Littleton a Tory town.
Author John Hanson Mitchell wrote a book titled Ceremonial Time which details a history of fifteen thousand years over one square mile located within the town.
The arrival of Digital Equipment Corp. (now part of Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
) in the 1970s made the town part of the Boston-area high-tech corridor. It built a very large facility on King Street near the Common as well as offices on Porter Road and Foster Street. In 2007, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
purchased the King Street facility from Hewlett-Packard and announced it would become its main New England location.
Due to the Yankee character of the town, it was notedly dry during Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
and the Rowse family, which then owned New England Apple Products (later Veryfine
Veryfine
Veryfine is a juice beverage brand currently owned by Sunny Delight Beverages Company.On Tuesday October 2, 2007 Kraft Foods Inc. announced the sale of Veryfine's Fruit2O water and juice brands to privately held Cincinnati-based Sunny Delight Beverages Co. The sale was completed sometime around the...
), were known for their integrity and honesty characterized by their refusal to do business with bootleggers in a state where Prohibition was overwhelmingly unpopular. Alcohol was first allowed to be sold in Littleton in 1960 in two locations, 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 (later Ken's American Cafe, which closed in December 2008, and followed by what is now the Chip Shot on Ayer Road). For years there were establishments that served alcohol just over the town line in Acton, Westford, Groton, Ayer, and Boxborough.
Many of the early settling families have remained in the town to 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 of the Irish, Italian, Québécois, and Finnish families ended up moving to Littleton in the 1950s and 1960s after coming out from their neighborhoods in Arlington, East Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, and Somerville.
Due to its location between Fort Devens
Fort Devens, Massachusetts
Devens, Massachusetts is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in the towns of Ayer and Shirley, in Middlesex County and Harvard in Worcester County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is the successor to Fort Devens, a military post that operated from 1917 to 1996. The area...
and Hanscom AFB
Hanscom Air Force Base
Hanscom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately south-southwest of Bedford, Massachusetts. The facility is a joint use civil airport/military base with Hanscom Field which provides general aviation and charter service.The host unit at Hanscom is the non-flying...
, Littleton became a popular location for military retirees from the 1960s to the present day.
Residential development in the postwar years
Residential development occurred in the postwar years in several spurts. In the late 1940s to 1950, cottages around Long Lake off Goldsmith, on the Littleton side of Forge Pond (called Lake Mattawanakee), along Spectacle Pond, and beside Mill Pond off Harwood Ave were either winterized or torn down and replaced by bungalows and Capes.At the same time, new construction went up along New Estate Road, Whitcomb Ave, and Tahattawan Road. From 1955 through 1965, Snow Village (off Great Road about a quarter mile before Power Road—formerly Snake Hill Road), Edsel Road (Kimball land behind the current Post Office running up the hill on the right of Goldmith Street), and lower Hartwell Ave (in the subdivision abutted by the cemetery, King St, and Hartwell Ave) were built with ranch houses and larger Capes.
In the late 60s and early 1970s, stretches along Harvard Road, Taylor Street, Liberty Square, Foster Street, Mill Road, and Grist Mill Road saw some of the first split-levels and five-bedroom Colonials go up.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the farms between Hartwell Ave and Great Road were developed along with upper Hartwell Ave. In this period, the livery stable at the corner of Coughlin Road and Newtown Road sold off more than half of its land to developers.
In the late 80s and early 90s, the horse farms along Russell Street off Great Road closed and were developed as well as some of the horse farms off Harwood by the quarantine station.
The turn of the century has seen further building of quite large Colonials along Great Road, on Fort Pond Hill, and along Beaver Brook Road.
IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
moved their New England corporate center to Littleton in mid 2008.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of is 17.5 square miles (45.3 km²). 16.6 square miles (43 km²) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²) of it (5.30%) is water.
Littleton borders the following towns: Groton
Groton, Massachusetts
Groton is a town located in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 10,646 at the 2010 census. It is home to two noted prep schools: Groton School, founded in 1884, and Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1793. The historic town hosts the National Shepley Hill Horse...
, Westford
Westford, Massachusetts
Westford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,951 at the 2010 census.-History:Originally a part of neighboring Chelmsford, West Chelmsford soon grew large enough to sustain its own governance, and was officially incorporated as Westford on September 23,...
, Acton
Acton, Massachusetts
Acton is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States about twenty-one miles west-northwest of Boston along Route 2 west of Concord and about ten miles southwest of Lowell. The population was 21,924 at the 2010 census...
, Boxborough
Boxborough, Massachusetts
Boxborough is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,996 at the 2010 census. The town name is often spelled "Boxboro" on highway signs and official documents, but the correct spelling is, in fact, Boxborough....
, Harvard
Harvard, Massachusetts
Harvard is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. A farming community settled in 1658 and incorporated in 1732, it has been home to several non-traditional communities, such as Harvard Shaker Village and the utopian Transcendentalist center Fruitlands...
, and Ayer
Ayer, Massachusetts
Ayer is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Originally part of Groton, it was incorporated February 14, 1871 and became a major commercial railroad junction. The town was home to Camp Stevens, a training camp for Massachusetts volunteers during the American Civil War...
.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 8,184 people, 2,960 households, and 2,217 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 492.5 PD/sqmi. There were 3,055 housing units at an average density of 183.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 96.49% White, 0.34% African American, 0.07% Native American, 1.71% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.97% of the population.
There were 2,960 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% were non-families. 19.6% of all households 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.
In the town the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $71,384, and the median income for a family was $83,365. Males had a median income of $54,097 versus $43,966 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $31,070. About 2.4% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
Library
The public Reuben Hoar Library first opened in 1887. In fiscal year 2008, the town of Littleton spent 1.5% ($432,744) of its budget on its public library—some $49 per person.Education
Littleton School Committee members: Chairman Shawna Stea, Vice Chair Paul J. Avella, Michael Fontanella, Nancy Mizzoni, and Chuck DeCoste.Littleton public schools
- Littleton High SchoolLittleton High School (Massachusetts)Littleton High School is a public high school located at 56 King Street, Littleton, Massachusetts. It serves students in grades 9-12 from the town of Littleton....
—new building 2001 - Littleton Middle School—new building 2006
- Russell Street Elementary
- Shaker Lane Elementary
Other public schools
- Nashoba Valley Technical High SchoolNashoba Valley Technical High SchoolNashoba Valley Technical High School is a public, four-year, career-focused high school located on Route 110 in Westford, MA. Following a $25 million renovation and expansion, its service area covers 14 communities including the seven District towns of Chelmsford, Groton, Littleton, Pepperell,...
—public regional vocational technical high school located in WestfordWestford, MassachusettsWestford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,951 at the 2010 census.-History:Originally a part of neighboring Chelmsford, West Chelmsford soon grew large enough to sustain its own governance, and was officially incorporated as Westford on September 23,... - Francis W. Parker Charter Essential SchoolFrancis W. Parker Charter Essential SchoolThe Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School is a public charter school in Devens, Massachusetts that serves students in grades 7 to 12...
—a public charter school in Devens, Massachusetts that serves students in grades 7 to 12.
Local Private, or Parochial Schools
- Concord AcademyConcord AcademyConcord Academy is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory school for grades nine through twelve, located in Concord, Massachusetts...
—a private, coeducational, independent, college preparatory school for grades 9–12, located in Concord, MA. - The Fenn School—an all-boys private school in Concord, MA serving grades 4–9.
- Country Day School of the Holy Union- coeducational Roman Catholic elementary school, Pre-K through 8th grade, in Groton, MA run by the Sisters of the Holy Union.
- Groton SchoolGroton SchoolGroton School is a private, Episcopal, college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, U.S. It enrolls approximately 375 boys and girls, from the eighth through twelfth grades...
—a private, Episcopal, college preparatory boarding school for grades 9–12 located in Groton, MassachusettsGroton, MassachusettsGroton is a town located in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 10,646 at the 2010 census. It is home to two noted prep schools: Groton School, founded in 1884, and Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1793. The historic town hosts the National Shepley Hill Horse...
. - Lawrence Academy at GrotonLawrence Academy at GrotonLawrence Academy at Groton, , is a co-educational preparatory school located in Groton, Massachusetts, in the United States...
—a private, co-educational preparatory school for grades 9–12 located in Groton, MassachusettsGroton, MassachusettsGroton is a town located in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 10,646 at the 2010 census. It is home to two noted prep schools: Groton School, founded in 1884, and Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1793. The historic town hosts the National Shepley Hill Horse...
. - Middlesex SchoolMiddlesex SchoolMiddlesex School is an independent secondary school for grades 9 - 12 located in Concord, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1901 by a Roxbury Latin School alumnus, Frederick Winsor, who headed the school until 1937. Winsor set up a National Scholarship Program for the school, the first of its kind...
—a private, independent preparatory school for grades 9–12 located in Concord, MassachusettsConcord, MassachusettsConcord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
. - Nashoba Brooks School—an independent coeducational school for Pre-K (age 3) through 3rd grade and all-female grade 4th through 8th grade.
- Oak Meadow Montessori School—a private, independent Montessori school serving Pre-K (age 3) through 8th grade
- Academy of Notre Dame—coeducational Roman Catholic elementary school, K1 through 8th grade, in Tyngsborough, MassachusettsTyngsborough, MassachusettsTyngsborough is a town located in the northwest section of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Composed of of land and surface water, Tyngsborough borders the towns of Dunstable, Groton, Westford, Chelmsford, Dracut, and the City of Lowell, as well as the New Hampshire communities of Hudson,...
, and an all-girls Roman Catholic preparatory school for grades 9–12 run by the Sisters of Notre Dame de NamurSisters of Notre Dame de NamurThe Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, is the name of a Roman Catholic order of religious sisters, dedicated to providing education to the poor.The order was founded in Amiens in 1803, but the opposition of the local bishop to missions outside his diocese led to the moving of headquarters to then... - My School Cooperative —a parent and teacher run cooperative preschool located in Littleton for children 2.9–5 years old. My School curriculum addresses all areas of child's development: physical, emotional, cognitive and social.
Transportation
Commuter railRegional rail
Commuter rail, also called suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates between a city center, and the middle to outer suburbs beyond 15km and commuter towns or other locations that draw large numbers of commuters—people who travel on a daily basis...
service from Boston's North Station is provided by the MBTA with a stop in Littleton
Littleton/Route 495 (MBTA station)
Littleton/Route 495 is a rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail system in Littleton, Massachusetts. The station is located at the intersection of Grimes Lane and Foster Street...
on its Fitchburg Line
Fitchburg Line
The Fitchburg Line is an MBTA line that runs from Boston's North Station to Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The line is along the tracks of the former Fitchburg Railroad, which was a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. It is one of the...
. Other transportation services in Littleton are provided by the regional transit authority MART
Montachusett Regional Transit Authority
The Montachusett Regional Transit Authority is one of Massachusetts' regional transit authorities. It is a public, non-profit organization in Massachusetts, charged with providing public transportation to an area consisting of the cities of Fitchburg, Leominster and Gardner, and the adjoining...
.
Freight
Freight train
A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars or goods wagons hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain...
travels daily through Littleton over the tracks of the historic Stony Brook Railroad. The line currently serves as a major corridor
Transport corridor
A transportation corridor is a tract of land in which at least one main line for transport, be it road, rail or canal, has been built...
of Pan Am Railway's
Pan Am Railways
Pan Am Railways, Inc. , known as Guilford Rail System before March 2006, is a holding company that owns and operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine to Rotterdam Junction, New York...
District 3 which connects New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
with western Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Notable residents
- Ron Borges (journalist)Ron BorgesRon Borges is currently a sportswriter for the Boston Herald. He previously wrote for The Boston Globe, and was a regular guest on Michael Felger's radio show The Mike Felger Show, which aired on 890 ESPN until July 2008. Borges also was a regular contributor to the until 2008...
, sports writer for the Boston HeraldBoston HeraldThe Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States... - Levi Conant, mathematician and developer of the Number Concept in 1896
- Patrick Doherty, Hockey player for Middlebury College, nicknamed "The Old Man" by his teammates for his wisdom on the ice and slow pace lifestyle outside the rink
- Ed FletcherEd Fletcher"Colonel" Ed Fletcher was a real estate developer and U.S. Republican and Democratic politician from San Diego, California.Fletcher was born 1872 in Littleton, Massachusetts, son of Charles Kimball Fletcher....
, politician who served as California State Senator until 1947 - Greg HawkesGreg HawkesGreg Hawkes is a musician best known as the keyboardist for the Rock band The Cars.Hawkes, a native of Fulton, Maryland, attended Atholton High School where he played in a band called Teeth. He then attended Berklee College of Music for two years, majoring in composition and flute...
, keyboardist for the 1970s-1980s New Wave group, The CarsThe CarsThe Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
, lived in Littleton during the band's early years before moving to LincolnLincoln, MassachusettsLincoln is a town in the historic area of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,362 at the 2010 census, including residents of Hanscom Air Force Base that live within town limits...
. - Sean McAdamSean McAdam (journalist)Sean McAdam is a sports writer for FoxSports.com, CSNNE.com, and the Boston Herald and a former writer for The Providence Journal and ESPN.com...
, sports writer for ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and The Providence JournalThe Providence JournalThe Providence Journal, nicknamed the ProJo, is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper, first published in 1829 and the oldest continuously-published daily newspaper in the United States, was purchased... - John Hanson Mitchell, author and editor of the award-winning magazine Sanctuary, published by the Massachusetts Audubon SocietyMassachusetts Audubon SocietyThe Massachusetts Audubon Society, founded in 1896 by Harriet Hemenway and headquartered in Lincoln, Massachusetts, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "Protecting the nature of Massachusetts." Mass Audubon is independent of the National Audubon Society, and in fact was founded...
- Harrison Reed, governor of FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
until 1899 - Peleg SpraguePeleg Sprague (New Hampshire)Peleg Sprague was a politician from the U.S. state of New Hampshire.Sprague was born in Rochester, Massachusetts. He clerked in a store in Littleton, Massachusetts, attended Harvard College, and was graduated from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1783...
, New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
politician who served as a US Senator until 1835 and a US District Court Judge until 1865 - Erik P. KraftErik P. KraftErik P. Kraft is an author and illustrator of children's books. His first book, Chocolatina was illustrated by Denise Brunkus, but from that point on, he illustrated his own books. Lenny and Mel , Lenny and Mel's Summer Vacation , and Lenny and Mel: Afterschool Confidential were all published by...
, author and illustrator
Tim Armstron, AOL
Historical, civic and cultural organizations
- American Legion Post 249
- BPOE (Elks), Chelmsford and Maynard
- Habitat for Humanity
- Indian Hill Music
- Knights of Columbus, Bishop Ruocco Council 9275
- Lions Club
- Littleton Conservation Trust
- Littleton Country Gardeners
- Littleton Historical Society
- Littleton Lyceum
- Littleton Rotary Club
- Indian Hill Music
- Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry, Devens
- Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Tahattawan Lodge
- Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Post 6556
Park and recreation links
Further reading
- 1871 Atlas of Massachusetts. by Wall & Gray.Map of Massachusetts. Map of Middlesex County.
- History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume 1 (A-H), Volume 2 (L-W) compiled by Samuel Adams Drake, published 1879 and 1880. 572 and 505 pages. Littleton section by Herbert Joseph Harwood in volume 2 pages 44–52.
