The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and was enlarged in 2004 to include Plaza Park and the Holstein Building on the south side of Whetstone Brook.

A bridge spanned the adjacent Connecticut River in 1804, making overland travel to points eastward more feasible.

[3] The district is bounded at its northern end by the fourway junction of Main, Linden and Walnut Streets, and Pultney Road.

This intersection is highlighted by Plaza Park, laid out in 1923, which includes as a central feature a casting of Daniel Chester French's Spirit of Life statue.

Prominent buildings lining Main Street in between include the former Brooks House Hotel, a Second Empire work of Vermont native Elbridge Boyden.