The Littlefield Homestead

The Littlefield Homestead. . , Upon this foundation once stood the home of Daniel P. and Mercy (Mary) Littlefield. A visit to this home provided the inspiration for Sarah Orne Jewett to write the 1889 sketch, "The White Rose Road". Her essay is filled with detailed imagery of the sights and characters encountered during her travels through the 19th century South Berwick countryside. The "old farmer" referenced in the essay is presumed to have been Daniel Littlefield. He is described as having a "fine face of the older New England type, clean-shaven and strong-featured and possessing a "large frame [that] was built for hard work, for lifting great weights and pushing his plough through new-cleared land". The land is no longer cleared and the sunlight is no longer caught in "fields of young grain" as described by Jewett, but this foundation provides a testament to the rigorous work that was envisioned by the local author., In 1784, William Joye, with his wife Martha, purchased and made a home on this land, surrounding what is now known as Orris Falls. This foundation, upon which Daniel P. Littlefield built his home and which remains today, was most likely first set by Joye in the earliest days of the 19th century. In 1815 the farm was deeded to his son, William Joy, Jr. (note the slight change in the spelling of surname). He subsequently sold the property to Edward G. Goodwin in 1837, reserving for himself only "the burying ground with the privilege of building a wall around the graves". This burying ground still remains, set apart from the foundation, near the top of Brown Hill., In 1839, the land was purchased by John D. Lang and William Hill, neither of whom made much use of the property. On the 19th of January, in 1843, they sold this land to Daniel P. Littlefield for the sum of $850.00. Born in 1821, Littlefield came from the nearby town of Sanford and was a descendant of an early setter to the Wells area and a family of English yeomen and farmers. In keeping with tradition, Littlefield purchased an upland location similar to his father's farm, located on the cast side of Bauneg Beg Hill in North Berwick. On February 2nd of 1849, six years after purchasing this land, Daniel married Mercy (Mary) Allen. Daniel and Mercy had five children (Henrietta, Eunice, Isaro, Orris, and Phoebe). The Littefields are believed to have sustained themselves by working the farm and harvesting crops., Crippled from rheumatism, Mercy Littlefield, died in 1889. Predeceasing Mercy were three of her children: Henrietta, Eunice, and Isaro. That same year, Daniel finalized a deed that, for the sum of $1000.00, ensured the property would be passed to his son, Orris, upon his death. In 1891, Daniel Littlefield died after a life of "almost undiverted toil," as described by Jewett. The land passed to Orris Littlefield and it would eventually bear his name., Great Works Regional Land Trust acquired the property containing the old Littlefield Homestead in 1999. The parcel had been heavily logged and was slated to become a housing development. Over the subsequent ten years, five additional parcels were acquired through purchase and donation, thus forming the 192-acre Orris Falls Conservation Area. The 1.8 mile-long trail that runs between Thurrell Road and Emery's Bridge Road attracts many visitors each year. It provides public access to such natural features as Orris Falls, the Big Bump, Tatnic Ledges Overlook and Balancing Rock., Special thanks to The Somersworth Home Depot for their donation of building materials, Infinite Imaging for their assistance with and printing of this sign, Old Berwick Historical Society for their invaluable help with the research and text, South Berwick Troop 338 for their help assembling and installing the sign and last but not least Great Works Regional Land Trust for their support of my Eagle Scout project., Photo of house presumed to be Littlefield Homestead. Photo courtesy of Gerry Desilets., Excerpt from the Atlas of York County, 1872, courtesy of the Old Berwick Historical Society archives.