First called "Number Seven" in a line of Connecticut River fort towns, Orford was incorporated in 1761 by Governor Benning Wentworth and named for Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford, who was the first prime minister of Great Britain.

Author Washington Irving visited Orford in 1832 and is quoted as saying, "In all my travels in this country and in Europe, I have seen no village more beautiful than this.

"[4] Of the famous sequence of seven early homes built on The Ridge, Dartmouth Professor of Architecture Hugh Morrison said, "As a row and counting the setting, this is the finest group of Federal-style houses in the United States.

[1] The Connecticut River, which serves as the boundary between New Hampshire and Vermont, forms the western edge of the town.

The main village of Orford, with the town's schools and post office, is located on New Hampshire Route 10 along the banks of the Connecticut River.

The town hall, however, is located in the smaller village of Orfordville, on New Hampshire Route 25A several miles east of the river.

The highest point in Orford is the summit of Mount Cube, at 2,909 feet (887 m) above sea level, in the eastern part of town.

Camps Merriwood and Moosilauke are situated on Upper Baker Pond in Orford.