The Josiah Littlefield papers contain a portion of Littlefield's unpublished autobiography, in which he describes his early life on a farm in Monroe County, Michigan (1850-1865), as well as biographical materials. The collection also contains four ledgers from Littlefield's mill, recording workers' hours and business transactions, property tax receipts, and a map showing Littlefield-owned land in Clare County, Michigan.

One ledger may be from a lumber camp (Gilmore Camp 1893-1895) showing workers accounts.