Located along New Hampshire Route 153 on a hill in northern Effingham, it is a well-preserved late 18th and early 19th-century rural village.

The village became locally prominent in the 1790s, when Isaac Lord built his large Federal-style house, and operated a tavern there.

At the southern junction is a triangular park around which houses and civic buildings, including the academy and church, are arrayed.

The large and stylish house of Isaac Lord is set on the north side of NH 153 just east of the junction with Hobbs Road.

The church was built by Isaac Lord in 1798, and extensively restyled in the 1840s to achieve its present Greek Revival appearance.