Two versions of who created the town exist. A manager of the Hill Logging Company, Harry J. Syverson, asserted in 1912 to have founded the town[3] however there are sourced claims that a local businessman, Curt Littell, agreed to call the post office under his name in 1902.[4] A post office was moved from the nearby town of Claquato in 1903 and an opera house was built in the town in 1904.[5]
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 which were employed by the mills. After a destructive fire to one mill in 1911, the second mill closed eventually thereafter and the town began to wane, leaving a few residents. Most of the original buildings and its downtown core are lost.[6]
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.[7] The $3.3 million project[8] was completed in June 2023 and the overpass was named in honor of the community.[9]
James A. Wright, Wisconsin state senator and lumberman, was president of the Wisconsin Lumber Company located in Littell; Wright organized the company in 1904.[11]
^"Willapa Hills State Park Trail". parks.state.wa.us. Washington State Parks.
^"To Start New Town In County". The Centralia Daily Chronicle. November 15, 1912. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
^"Miscellaneous Business". The Chehalis Bee-Nugget. Vol. 29, no. 42. April 18, 1902. p. 10. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
^"Chehalis and Vicinity". The Chehalis Bee-Nugget. Vol. 21, no. 45. May 6, 1904. p. 10. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
^"Littell, Once Thriving Town, Is No More". The Centralia Daily Chronicle. July 15, 1961. p. 12. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
^Brown, Alex (March 28, 2019). "Proposed House Budget Funds $5 Million Willapa Trail Bridge Over State Route 6". The Chronicle. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
^Hammock, Dan (September 29, 2021). "Overpass Construction Begins on Willapa Hills Trail". The Chronicle. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
^"Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Planned for New Willapa Hills Trail Bridge". The Chronicle. June 13, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
^Mittge, Brian (July 17, 2015). "Commentary: The Father of 'Maverick' and 'Rockford' Was Born in Lewis County". The Chronicle. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
^'State Senator Wright Dies,' Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, December 22, 1911, pg. 15