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A−History
History · Littleton

Littleton dates to 1784, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #61 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 29 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.

1784founded
5on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
29old photos & papers
13famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Littleton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Littleton began

When was Littleton founded?

1784

Littleton dates its founding to 1784 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 96 in 17902020 census: 6,005242 years

How historic is Littleton?

A−

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1802.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Littleton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Littleton is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #61 of 126 in New Hampshire. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Littleton’s overall grade.
Founding era1784, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194023.8% of homes (±6.4) · typical NH town 17.5% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register5 listings, 6 historic buildings, 9.9 per 10,000 residents · typical NH town 9.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%
NewerOlder
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 52%

New Hampshire towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Hampshire town has 9.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Littleton’s 9.9 sits near the middle of its state (48% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.4 points). Two sources give 1784.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Littleton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos29 old photos, postcards and papers, 1883–1939.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Littleton, and 6 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1887 to 1921, drew every building in Littleton.Deep rootsEstablished in 1784: 242 years of Littleton.
★ What stands out · By decade

Littleton, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s13 items
Bird's eye view of Littleton, Grafton County, N.H. 18831883Bird's eye view of Littleton, Grafton County, N.H. 18…Littleton Hospital1900Littleton HospitalLittleton National Bank & Federal Court1900Littleton National Bank & Federal CourtPublic library1900Public libraryMain Street1900Main StreetLittleton, N.H., Thayer's Hotel1900Littleton, N.H., Thayer's HotelPresidential Range from Kilburn Crags1900Presidential Range from Kilburn CragsSears-Roebuck Shoe Factories No. 11900Sears-Roebuck Shoe Factories No. 1Northern Hotel and post office block1900Northern Hotel and post office blockMain Street, Looking West1908Main Street, Looking WestPostcardThayer House1908Thayer HousePostcardTown Building & Opera House1908Town Building & Opera HousePostcardMain Street1908Main Street
1910s–1930s16 items
Looking North toward Littleton from Bethlehem, NHc. 1910Looking North toward Littleton from Bethlehem, NHElliot Hall1914Elliot HallCarnegie Libraryc. 1915Carnegie LibraryPostcardLumbermen's tools and lunch box near Littleton, New Hampshire1939Lumbermen's tools and lunch box near Littleton, New H…Farmer hauling wood for winter fuel near Littleton, New Hampshire1939Farmer hauling wood for winter fuel near Littleton, N…Splitting wood for winter fuel on farm near Littleton, New Hampshire1939Splitting wood for winter fuel on farm near Littleton…Sign on street corner showing recent ski influence1939Sign on street corner showing recent ski influenceChildren waiting to go into movie on Saturday afternoon1939Children waiting to go into movie on Saturday afterno…Children waiting to go into movie on Saturday afternoon. Littleton, New Hampshire1939Children waiting to go into movie on Saturday afterno…Lumberman hauling logs to the mill in truck, near Littleton, New Hampshire1939Lumberman hauling logs to the mill in truck, near Lit…Children and farmers waiting to go into movie on Saturday afternoon1939Children and farmers waiting to go into movie on Satu…Children and farmers waiting to go into movie on Saturday afternoon. Littleton, New Hampshire1939Children and farmers waiting to go into movie on Satu…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Lumbermen's tools and lunch box near Littleton, New Hampshire1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Lumbermen's tool…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Farmer hauling wood for winter fuel near Littleton, New Hampshire1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Farmer hauling w…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Farmer hauling wood for winter fuel near Littleton, New Hampshire1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Farmer hauling w…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Farmer hauling wood for winter fuel near Littleton, New Hampshire1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Farmer hauling w…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Littleton had its own post office from 1802 to 1828. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Littleton
1802–1828
Littleton
1831–today
North Littleton
1843–1903
West Littleton
1857–1879
Apthorp
1886–1911
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ApthorpCoreys Mobile ParkGilman Mobile ParkHilltop Manor Extension Mobile Home ParkNorth LittletonToneys Mobile Park
Gone or out of use
North Littlefield SchoolschoolSlate Ledge Schoolschool
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Littleton
GlenwoodMeadowNorth LittletonSaint RoseWest LittletonWheeler Hill

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Every building

Littleton, building by building, 1887–1921

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Littleton fire insurance map, 1887, sheet 11887Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Littleton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Littleton.

Read it all →

Called "Chiswick" (Saxon for "Cheese Farm") in 1764, the area was settled in 1769. The town was part of Lisbon until 1770, when it was granted as "Apthorp" in honor of George Apthorp, head of one of the wealthiest mercantile establishments in Boston, Massachusetts. The land was later passed to the Apthorp family's associates from Newburyport, Massachusetts, headed by Colonel Moses Little. Colonel Little held the post of Surveyor of the King's Woods, and the town was named in his honor when it was incorporated in 1784, the same year New Hampshire became a state.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Littleton, 1784 to 1971

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1784
    FoundingLittleton is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1802Post officeThe Littleton post office opens
  5. 1827Born hereBenjamin W. Kilburn is born here
  6. 1828Post officeThe Littleton post office closes
  7. 1831Post officeThe Littleton post office opens
  8. 1840Born hereEvarts Worcester Farr is born here
  9. 1843Post officeThe North Littleton post office opens
  10. 1868Born hereEleanor H. Porter is born here
  11. 1883In the archiveBird's eye view of Littleton, Grafton County, N.H. 1883
  12. 20th century
  13. 1900In the archiveLittleton Hospital
  14. 1903Post officeThe North Littleton post office closes
  15. 1910In the archiveLooking North toward Littleton from Bethlehem, NH
  16. 1922Born hereWayne Green is born here
  17. 1939In the archiveLumbermen's tools and lunch box near Littleton, New Hampshire
  18. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Littleton on the map, 1971 to 1988

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Littleton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Littleton on the 1971 USGS mapLittleton on the 1988 USGS map1971Littleton sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Littleton.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Bird's eye view of Littleton, Grafton County, N.H. 1883
Retake this viewBird's eye view of Littleton, Grafton County, N.H. 1883, 1883

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Littleton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 historic places in Littleton

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Littleton Town Building
Littleton Town BuildingEdward H. Lane HouseThayer's HotelUS Post Office and Courthouse-Littleton MainLittleton Community House & Annex
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
Victorian1
Queen Anne1
Colonial Revival1
Littleton Town BuildingVictorian
Edward H. Lane HouseGreek Revival
Thayer's HotelGreek Revival
US Post Office and Courthouse-Littleton MainColonial Revival
All 5 listings
Littleton Community House & AnnexBuilding · listed 2023

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Littleton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,500180018501900195020006,005

Grew from 96 people in 1790 to 6,005 in 2020, more than tenfold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Littleton’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

13 famous people were born in Littleton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Eleanor H. PorterAmerican novelist · b. 1868
W
Wayne GreenAmerican publisher · b. 1922
Benjamin W. KilburnAmerican photographer · b. 1827
Evarts Worcester FarrAmerican politician · b. 1840
George Hutchins BinghamAmerican judge · b. 1864
R
Raúl GarcíaCuban basketball player · b. 1924
Help out

Finish Littleton’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBird's eye view of Littleton, Grafton C…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

DaltonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBethlehem3 historic placesALisbon1 historic placeAMonroeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Littleton’s history

What year was Littleton founded?

In 1784, according to Wikidata. Littleton’s post office opened in 1802, and the first U.S. census counted 96 people here in 1790.

How does Littleton rank for history?

Littleton is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #61 of 126 in New Hampshire. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Littleton?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Littleton Town Building (listed 1973, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Littleton?

24% of Littleton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1972.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (23), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.