The district is centered on the town common, at the intersection of Main and Salem Streets.

The common has been communally owned since at least 1737, with the original burying ground (expanded in the 19th century, and now known as Laurel Hill Cemetery) to the north.

In 1769 the area's first meeting house (church and civic building) was built, giving the area a sense of identity separate from portions of Reading that would later be set off as Wakefield and North Reading.

Since then the area has become a focal point for religious and civic institutions in the town.

There is a row of 19th-century houses along Harnden and Salem Streets on the east side of the district.