It is a basically linear district, running along Canaan Street roughly from Prospect Hill Road in the north to Moss Flower Lane in the south.

Because it was on a major north-south stagecoach route, the area developed in the first half of the 19th century as a trading center.

The area declined in economic importance because it was bypassed by the railroad, but was developed as a summer resort community in the second half of the 19th century, rivaling Bethlehem.

A cluster of civic buildings is found near the center of the district at Apple Blossom Road, where the old town hall stands, with the former Academy (now the Canaan Historical Museum) across the street.

[3] Most of the district's buildings are residences that exhibit either Federal or Greek Revival styling, reflective of the village's early period of development.