31 Foster Street
This house was known to be standing in 1740. It was originally a four-room saltbox construction with a central fireplace and “gun stock” corners. Obviously in the late 18th century the house was enlarged by reconstructing the central chimney and raising the rear roof, or “saltbox” portion. The result was a square proportioned, center entrance colonial architecture, with fireplaces in six rooms- three on the first floor and three on the second.
At present, after occupation by seven families, the house is now comprised of eleven rooms and includes three rooms on the third floor.
According to the earliest records available, the house was first occupied by Mr. Oliver Whitcomb, the fifth generation descendant of one of the original settlers of Littleton. Mr. Whitcomb was a blacksmith, as was his son John, who occupied the house following his death. Oliver Whitcomb had seven children, and John was his only son. John’s wife Sarah (Carter) Whitcomb sold the house and land to Eli Davis in 1794 following her husband’s death. The Davis family occupied the house for two generations and eventually sold to Mr. Billy Parks and his mother, Mrs. Boynton. They in turn sold the house to Mrs. Faustina Lawrence who then sold to the Longstaff-Owen family. The house was sold again in 1948 to Mr. and Mrs. John Wilson* and in 1953 to Mr. and Mrs. A. Warren Hanson, who did much to restore it.
In 1964, original architectural features still in evidence are two brick baking ovens, two cranes in first floor fireplaces used for cooking. Wide pine floor boards are original in rooms on first and second floors. Very old square bricks are in evidence in the parlor hearth. Gun-stock corners are on front corners of the house. Renovations disclosed a brick wall or partition between the original kitchen of the house (now used as a dining room) and what is now a kitchen. The house is resting on a granite foundation believed to have come from nearby Westford.
* photo from the WWII era. The back of the photo reads: “John Henry Wilson and son, James, on Airplane Observation Patrol Post in Littleton Mass in December 1941 beginning of the War with the Axis.”
“The Office of Civilian Defense (OCD) was established by the federal government in early 1941 to organize volunteers nationwide to serve as airplane spotters, air raid wardens and fire brigades.
In December 1941 the Littleton Campfire Girls donated their camp building on Warren Street for use as a post for plane spotting. The building measured 10 feet by 10 feet and was moved by volunteers to the corner of Foster and Taylor streets. A wood stove was installed to provide heat in the winter.” (from “Littleton, Mass 1714-2014, Celebrating 300 Years of History”)
The Rev. John H. Wilson was minister of the Unitarian Church in the 1930s-1940s. In the 1940 census he lived at 31 Foster Street with his wife, Lucile and children John, Lewis, Jean and James.
Fun fact: Son Lewis Wilson was the first actor to play Batman on film in a 1943 serial!