The town name is derived from two sources: its location, centered between Meredith and Moultonborough harbors, as well as from the Senter family, who were owners of a large amount of property in the area.

Center Harbor was a favorite spot of John Greenleaf Whittier, and the home of Dudley Leavitt, author of the first Farmers' Almanac in 1797.

[3] Center Harbor is the winter home of the paddle steamer MS Mount Washington, the largest boat on Lake Winnipesaukee.

Center Harbor witnessed the first intercollegiate sporting event in the United States, as Harvard defeated Yale by two lengths in the first Harvard–Yale Regatta on August 3, 1852, on Lake Winnipesaukee.

U.S. Route 3 and NH 25 pass north–south through the western part of town, connecting Meredith to the south with Holderness to the northwest.

The Proctor Wildlife Sanctuary, owned by the Audubon Society of New Hampshire, occupies 47 acres (19 ha) of woodlands northwest of the town center.

On the Executive Council of New Hampshire, Center Harbor is in the 1st District, represented by Republican Joseph Kenney.

Restaurants and motels dot the shoreline, with a beach and playground at the town's center which is shared by residents of Moultonborough.

Anchored by a mansion recently used for the New Hampshire Music Festival, and several other buildings, the campus was a center of activity.

The Center Harbor Town Band, founded in 1878, offers free concerts on Fridays in the summer.