Prominent architecture located within the district include the Cobblestone Path, Nelson County Jail, Old L & N Station, Old Talbott Tavern, and Spalding Hall, all individually on the National Register, and the historic old Nelson County Courthouse.

Over one third of the buildings in the district are Federal or Georgian architecture dating from the 1780s to 1850, reflecting Bardstown's status as one of the first towns in Kentucky, first settled in 1780 and formally established in 1788.

[3] The town was originally to be called Salem when it was first settled in 1780 by 33 people, on land given as 1,000-acre (4 km2) grant to John Owings and David Bard by Virginia governor Patrick Henry.

By the 1980s over 200,000 tourists visited the town, which has steadily increased due to the continuing attractions of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival and My Old Kentucky Home State Park, located on the next hill to the east of the historic district.

[9] United States President Jimmy Carter held a town hall meeting in the district in 1979.