It encompasses the village center of Middle Haddam, a riverfront community founded in the 17th century on the east bank of the Connecticut River.

From an early date it was a shipbuilding community, with a sawmill on Mill Brook, which runs through the village.

It also acted as a shipment point for trade with the West Indies and the North American coast, and was the site of shipyards building ocean-going vessels.

The district has 58 historically significant primary buildings, most of which were built before 1835, giving the village a distinctly Federal style.

[2] Among others, the Princeton and Yale Divinity School-educated Second Great Awakening evangelist James Brainerd Taylor (1801–1829) was born in Middle Haddam's historic district.