I was driving up Route 93 a few days ago on my way to Franconia Notch, New Hampshire and spotted the quintessential little New England town off to my left, mental note to self–go find that town. I’ve always thought the best things you see traveling around are the ones you find unexpectedly and Littleton, New Hampshire is no exception. As I’m typing this I’m sitting in the infamous Littleton Diner. This place is a real gem, as a New Yorker I love me a good diner and the Littleton Diner has it all, good food, an authentic setting and a really friendly staff. It’s the kind of place where no one seems in much of a hurry, in a good way. Littleton’s claim to fame is that its home to Author Eleanor Hodgman Porter (1868-1920). She was born and lived in Littleton. In 1913, she created the cheerful Pollyanna, the world-famous character whose very name inspires an understanding of gladness and optimism. I wondered why there was a statue of Pollyanna in front of the town library, now I know.
There are beautiful old buildings everywhere, a working Grist Mill, Chutters Candy Store, which happens to be in the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s longest candy counter and most notably home of the historic Thayers Inn
Thayer’s is a fascinating place, established in 1843. Bette Davis was a fan of Thayers Inn and Ulysses S. Grant as well as Richard Nixon paid Thayers a visit . I spent about an hour wandering around the hotel admiring its old world charm and the very nice woman at the front desk let me take a look at the hotel’s cupola which provides amazing views of the town and the surrounding mountains. I also absolutely LOVED Jax Jr. Cinemas where on Sunday I saw Thor for $8.00 and on Monday saw Fast Five for $4! The history of the theater is fascinating, check out the link for more info as well as the other links to these absolutely wonderful little New England treasures, you’ll be surprised how many cool historical things there are in this tiny town! If you find yourself in New England this Spring/Summer season I highly recommend a few days in Littleton and a stay at Thayers Inn
The Littleton Diner A Step Back In Time
Some History On The Littleton Diner
Historic Thayers Inn
Littleton Celebrates Bette Davis
An Old Photograph of Thayers
Thayers Homey Check In and Reception Area
TV Watching Area (Are Those VHS Tapes!)
Ulysses S. Grant's Visit to Thayers (Sorry Not a Great Shot But The Information Outweighs That!)
The Cupola
Magnificent View From The Cupola
Thayers Inn Sign
An Elderly Couple Enjoying An Afternoon Stroll Across The Littleton Footbridge
Littleton, New Hampshire
Chutters-So Much Candy, So Little Time
Jax Jr. Cinema
Excellent write up about Main Street Littleton. I, too, enjoy staying at Thayer’s. Not only is Thayer’s a quaint little inn, (No pun intended) but the ease of getting onto Main street for shopping is great from there. Hi to the folks at the Inn. I’ll be up in a while for some fishing! See you then.
Chutters…I don’t see a Patty among them…say it ain’t so?!
Oh there must have been patties in there somewhere. Yesterday I got FREE patties. I was in a store getting coffee and they had those mini patties at the register, you know the ones that cost 25 cents and you think I’m not paying 25 cents for a one bite patty, but somehow you do? I grabbed two and said please add these and the guy at the register said “Just take them” I love the hinterlands!
Nirvanic!!!