It encompasses an area just north of downtown Nashua, roughly centered on the junction of Concord, Amherst, and Main streets.

[1] Today this area is known as French Hill, but the NRHP district takes its name from a time in the 19th century when the area was briefly separated from Nashua as the town of "Nashville".

This was due to the placement of a new Town Hall in the southern half of the city (which was more populated at the time).

[2] The creation of a new railroad line from Lowell, Massachusetts, that ran along the northern length of the Nashua River had resulted in Union Square being renamed "Railroad Square" in 1838.

[2] However, the railroad brought new economic prosperity and increased communication with Boston, and in 1853 the two town committees resolved their differences and a new town charter for the "City of Nashua" was enacted.