In 1833, the U.S. Government required that all meat cattle arriving from foreign countries where disease was suspect (excluding countries in North and South America) be quarantined for ninety days. Only three ports of entry were set up along the Atlantic seaboard-Baltimore, New York, and Boston. This ruling was later changed to include sheep, swine, and other ruminants (cud-chewing animals). Since barns full of animals could not be set up on the docks of these busy ports, the animals were shipped by rail to rural quarantine stations which provided them with the land required to care for and maintain them until they had passed their quarantine. They would then be shipped to their destinations across the country.

The Canadians had a quarantine station at Quebec, but it was closed from October until May each year. During these months Canadian cattle were shipped to Boston, and frequently, horses and ponies were accommodated along with the cattle in order to avoid breaking up a shipment. The required period of quarantine was shortened several times and remained at thirty days from date of shipment.

The first station for the port of Boston was in Waltham and it turned out to be an undesirable location. Joseph A. Harwood, a prominent citizen of Littleton, and politically well-connected, acquired level land between Harwood Avenue and the railroad tracks. He convinced the authorities that this was a more suitable location and leased the thirty-three acre tract to the government. Nineteen barns were moved here piece by piece from Waltham in 1885. The establishment was designated the “Littleton Meat Cattle Quarantine Station.” A few of the low, one-story red barns can be seen today as you turn on to Trot Road. At the end of Trot Road, which ends in a cul-de-sac, there is a large chute with a ramp that was used to unload the livestock from the railroad cars.

The quarantine station saw increased activity in 1914 when a terrible epidemic of foot and mouth disease broke out. However, over the years the number of animals gradually decreased. In 1934, a serious drought in the western states made it impossible for ranchers in the so-called “dust bowl” to feed their cattle and many young animals had to be slaughtered. In this emergency, the quarantine station was used to accommodate the large number of imported cattle to the eastern markets. On one winter night, a shipment of four hundred cattle came in! One worker recalled the largest animal of all, an Angus bull named “Justice,” that weighted two tons.

Aside from the usual breeds of cattle, some uncommon ones, like Irish Kerry cattle arrived. They were so small that it was necessary to sit on the ground to milk them. Most stock came from Scotland. Since every shire in England had its own breed of sheep, most sheep came from the United Kingdom. During World War I, a shipment of two hundred choice cattle headed for this station was sunk at sea by a German shell.

Beside domestic animals, a variety of wild animals were cleared through the Littleton Station, including water buffalo, camels, llamas, antelope, deer, and kangaroos. John Benson of Benson’s Wild Animal Farm in Hudson, NH bought most of these; some for his own farm and some that he sold as an agent for an animal supply concern in Germany.

After 1934, there was no more activity at the Littleton Station and it was put up for bids and sold to George Hartwell. Later Harry A. Spinney purchased the property. Today we know the area as Trot Road where Harmony Horse Stables and residential homes are. There is a plaque in front of a water trough on the left as you turn into Trot Road. It commemorates the Quarantine Station, an interesting and colorful part of Littleton's history.