Site of the Nashobah Plantation Praying Indian Village, established in 1651 by missionary John Eliot, present-day Littleton was settled by Europeans in 1686 and incorporated in 1714. Located between Lake Nagog and Fort Pond, Nashobah was the sixth of fourteen such villages organized in Massachusetts.

Minutemen and militia of Littleton fought at Concord and along the Battle Road on April 19, 1775. Described as a “Yankee Town,” Littleton remained dry during prohibition. It was not until 1960 that alcohol was sold here with the first bar allowed in the 1980s.

Principally agricultural in character, Littleton’s location between Fort Devens and Hanscom Air Force Base has made the community welcoming to military retirees. The arrival of Digital Equipment Corporation in the 1970s made Littleton part of the Boston-area high-tech corridor.

Neighborhoods around Mill Pond, Long Lake, Forge Village, and Spectacle Pond include numerous summer cottages or “camps” that have been converted into year-round residences.