“In this busy, active age, while we are deeply engaged with our plans and schemes for the accumulation of wealth, it is feared that we are too apt to let slip from our memories those who have gone before us to whom we are in a great measure indebted for the privileges we enjoy and for the facilities which we are aided in accomplishing our purposes.”
Judge Nathum Morrill, at the Oct. 12, 1877, unveiling of the Edward Little Statue

The original land grant to Moses Little and Col. Jonathon Bagley included most of Poland, Danville and land extending to Merrymeeting Bay. Separately, the two also had a land grant that included Greene, Lewiston and Lisbon.

Edward Little, Moses Little’s grandson, was a graduate of Dartmouth College and practiced law in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and later in Portland.

Edward Little came to the area at the behest of his father, Josiah Little, to litigate the many land disputes related to his grandfather’s grant. The Massachusetts Legislature in 1823 upheld the Little family’s property rights. In 1826, Edward built his home on the corner of Main and Vine streets in Auburn. His father disapproved of the “grand” nature of the structure.

Edward was a product of his time. After two wars on the continent and finally independence from England, the American experiment with the world’s only democracy had just begun. In the Jeffersonian tradition, Americans felt they were the harbingers of a new republic. In order to build healthy and robust communities, it was necessary to invest in institutions of education and institutions of worship, while capitalizing on natural resources to build a vital industrial community. To that end Edward gave a tract of 9 acres of land and financial support to erect Lewiston Falls Academy in 1830.

Separately, at a Thanksgiving dinner held in Edward’s home, the seeds for the First Congregational Church were sown. It was later determined that a meeting house should be constructed. Edward and his son Josiah gave $7,200 to the effort and Edward contributed 10 acres. Subsequently, Edward also contributed a boarding house worth $1,800 to the academy.

In his vision of the future, Edward knew that the falls were the potential source of great industry for Lewiston-Auburn. Edward owned most of the land on both sides of the falls and was a shareholder in the Lewiston Falls Manufacturing Company. To encourage further growth, he sold some of his landholdings at what some believed was less than market value to the Water Power Company. In his lifetime he tried unsuccessfully to get a railroad line to the area; however, the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad was chartered before his passing.

Architecture is one of the enduring physical expressions of the values of those who commissioned the structures.  As such, the Edward Little House is a window to Auburn’s past. Prior to the American Revolution the commonly accepted architectural style was to imitate English architecture, which was imitating Roman architecture, which had very specific and limiting design elements. This was commonly known as the Georgian Period.

“The second half of the 18th century saw the collapse of absolute architectural authority,” wrote Hugh Morrison in Early American Architecture.

The federal style is often considered the most authentic American architectural style, steeped in science and libertarian views.

Common to the federal style residences are lower pitch roofs, larger panes of glass, simpler forms, elliptical fan transoms and narrow sidelights on either side of the entrance. The Edward Little House has all of these features.  The larger windows fill the house with light and welcome the residents to connect to their surroundings. Chimneys are moved to the outside gable ends, but set inside the building. Over 20 cords of wood were used to heat the house. Once the masonry mass was heated by the fireplaces, the entire house was comfortable.

In spite of Edward’s father’s recriminations about the extravagant house, the Edward Little house is quite simplistic in its trim detail. One-board wainscoting is common, a mahogany carved handrail, arched openings either side of the main fireplace are some of its unique characteristics. Note that divided lights of the side lights and transoms at the main entrance are bent pieces of wood, and the glass is original blown glass.

Note also the paucity of closets throughout the house. The cavity of the exterior walls contains an additional plaster and lathe wall for insulation purposes.

As one stands in the Edward Little House, it is worth reflecting that the house was built when Danville was still the principal village of the area and the first settler in the area built a cabin at the corner of what is Court and Main only 30 years before Edward Little built. Reflect too that one man’s vision while living in this house influenced so greatly the future of the Twin Cities.

In no small part, Edward’s efforts until his death in 1849 to build a community led to Maine’s first organized shoe factory locating in Auburn years later. By 1859, 25 shoe manufacturers were operating. At one point in time, Auburn was home to the largest shoe factory under one roof in the world, The Ara Cushman Company.

Dave Rodgers of Rogers Design restored the Edward Little House with his business partner, Peter Rubins, about 100 years after the unveiling of the Edward Little statue.

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