Littell, Washington

{{Infobox settlement

|official_name = Littell, Washington

|settlement_type = Unincorporated community

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|image_skyline = File:LIttell, Washington Willapa Hills Trail 01.jpg

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|image_caption = Willapa Hills Trail pedestrian bridge, Littell, Washington 2023

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|pushpin_map = Washington#USA

|pushpin_label = Littell

|subdivision_type = Country

|subdivision_name = United States

|subdivision_type1 = State

|subdivision_name1 = Washington

|subdivision_type2 = County

|subdivision_name2 = Lewis

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|timezone = Pacific (PST)

|utc_offset = -8

|timezone_DST = PDT

|utc_offset_DST = -7

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|elevation_m = 61

|elevation_ft = 200

|coordinates = {{coord|46|38|12|N|123|02|07|W|type:city_region:US-WA|display=inline,title}}

|postal_code_type = zip code

|postal_code = 98532

|area_code = 360

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Littell is an unincorporated community in Lewis County, Washington, United States, located off Washington State Route 6 between the towns of Adna and Claquato.{{cite gnis|1506183|Littell, Washington}}

The Willapa Hills Trail passes through the area.{{cite web |title=Willapa Hills State Park Trail |url=https://parks.state.wa.us/DocumentCenter/View/7573/Willapa-Hills-Map?bidId= |website=parks.state.wa.us|publisher=Washington State Parks}}

History

File:Littell, Washington 01.jpg

There are two stories of the town's origin. A manager of the Hill Logging Company, Harry J. Syverson, asserted in 1912 to have founded the town.{{cite news |title=To Start New Town In County |url=https://jtenlen.drizzlehosting.com/walewis/hill-logging2.html |access-date=December 13, 2021 |work=The Centralia Daily Chronicle |date=November 15, 1912}} However, there are sourced claims that a local businessman, Curt Littell, agreed to call the post office by his name in 1902.{{cite news |title=Miscellaneous Business |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1902/04-18/page-2/ |access-date=December 13, 2021 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=April 18, 1902 |volume=29 |page=1}}

A post office was moved from the nearby town of Claquato in 1903, and an opera house was built in the town in 1904.{{cite news |title=Chehalis and Vicinity |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1904/05-06/page-10/ |access-date=December 13, 2021 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |issue=45 |date=May 6, 1904 |volume=21 |page=10}}

The community was known for its timber production, having two sawmills during its peak at the beginning of the 20th century. Littell grew large enough to contain a school and church, and had a large Japanese population, many of whom were employed by the mills. After a destructive fire to one mill in 1911, the second mill closed, and the town began to wane, leaving a few residents. Most of the original buildings and its downtown core are lost.{{cite news |title=Littell, Once Thriving Town, Is No More |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1961/07-15/page-12 |access-date=April 11, 2024 |work=The Centralia Daily Chronicle |date=July 15, 1961 |page=12}}

A pedestrian bridge in Littell was built starting in 2021. The span would allow users of the Willapa Hills Trail to pass over the highway to lessen vehicular accidents.{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Alex |title=Proposed House Budget Funds $5 Million Willapa Trail Bridge Over State Route 6 |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/proposed-house-budget-funds-5-million-willapa-trail-bridge-over-state-route-6,10368? |access-date=December 13, 2021 |work=The Chronicle |date=March 28, 2019}} The $3.3 million project{{cite news |last1=Hammock |first1=Dan |title=Overpass Construction Begins on Willapa Hills Trail |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/overpass-construction-begins-on-willapa-hills-trail,273547? |access-date=August 16, 2023 |work=The Chronicle |date=September 29, 2021}} was completed in June 2023 and the overpass was named in honor of the community.{{cite news |title=Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Planned for New Willapa Hills Trail Bridge |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/ribbon-cutting-ceremony-planned-for-new-willapa-hills-trail-bridge,320817 |access-date=August 16, 2023 |work=The Chronicle |date=June 13, 2023}}

Notable people

Roy Huggins, producer, screenwriter, creator of television series The Rockford Files, The Fugitive and Maverick; born in Littell{{cite news |last1=Mittge |first1=Brian |title=Commentary: The Father of 'Maverick' and 'Rockford' Was Born in Lewis County |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/commentary-the-father-of-maverick-and-rockford-was-born-in-lewis-county,71009? |access-date=December 13, 2021 |work=The Chronicle |date=July 17, 2015}}
James A. Wright, Wisconsin state senator and lumberman; president of the Wisconsin Lumber Company located in Littell; organized the company in 1904"State Senator Wright Dies," Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, December 22, 1911, pg. 15

References

Category:Populated places in Lewis County, Washington

Category:Unincorporated communities in Lewis County, Washington

Category:Unincorporated communities in Washington (state)