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AUBURN — The Androscoggin Historical Society announces the publication of a new book about Edward Little (1773-1849), one of the “founding fathers” of the development of Auburn and Lewiston.
“Dear Parent: A Biography and Letters of Edward Little,” was researched and written by Douglas I. Hodgkin, who has written several works concerning local history.
Little is best known for having founded Lewiston Falls Academy, which became Edward Little High School. Less well known is the role of the Little family in founding what became High Street Congregational Church, as well as bridges, railroads and the mills at the falls, until the latter were taken over by Boston-based investors.
“We decided that there should be a comprehensive biography of his life,” commented Hodgkin, president of the society as well as author of the biography. “Until now, his life has been summarized in articles in the old Lewiston Journal Magazine Section, mostly of information concerning his local accomplishments.”
The book details Little’s early career as a businessman, lawyer and politician in Newburyport, Mass., until two disasters resulted in massive debt. He then went to Portland to manage the business affairs of his father and the Pejepscot Proprietors’ land company.
Finally, in 1826, at the age of 53, he settled in Danville, now Auburn. His local achievements, including the foundations for the economic development of Lewiston and Auburn from an insignificant farming community to the verge of industrialization, make this a story of a remarkable life.
This book also contains the letters that Edward Little addressed to “Dear Parent,” his father, Josiah, that are owned by the Androscoggin Historical Society. They depict the early conditions in the development of the Androscoggin Valley, relations between the Littles and the settlers and the relations among the Little family themselves.
Everett Bertrand, a resident of Poland and a student at Wheaton College, transcribed the letters during a summer internship at the society in the summer of 2015.
Hodgkin, a retired professor of political science at Bates College, is the author of several books describing the history of Lewiston and/or Auburn. These include “Lewiston Memories,” “Historic Lewiston: The Grange at Crowley’s Junction,” “Frontier to Industrial City: Lewiston Town Politics 1768-1863,” “The Baptists of Court Street,” “Lewiston and Auburn Railroad Company” and “Lewiston Politics in the Gilded Age 1863-1900.”
The Edward Little book, a 262-page paperback, costs $20 plus sales tax and is available at the society’s office in the Androscoggin County Building (1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday to Friday). Members of the society who purchase it from the society office receive a 10 percent discount.
Local stores that carry the book are Victor News (59 Park St., Lewiston), Bates College Store (65 Campus Ave., Lewiston) and Gulf of Maine Books (134 Maine St., Brunswick). The book may also be purchased online from the Maine Historical Society Store in Portland. For more information call 784-0586.
