n 1877, Edward Russell Frost, at 16, published Littleton’s first newspaper the Littleton Amateur which became the Littleton Courant. The weekly paper could be subscribed for $.10 cents per year.
It is a great source, not just for the town news but for the advertisements as well. It gives great insight into the business in early Littleton.
This is the July 1878 Littleton Courant published by Frost at his home. He had a great sense of humor and it often comes out in his writings. Frost was born 1860, son of Benjamin Dix Frost and Martha Duty. Benjamin Frost was the chief engineer of the construction of the Hoosac Tunnel. His advertisement appears on page 4.
The Frosts lived at the house on the corner of King and Russell Streets. E. Russell Frost was the 3rd great grandson of Capt John Russell, the first of the Russells in Littleton. You can see Russell Street, as a path, to the left of the house. Frost’s secretary desk is in the collection at the Historical Society.
