Unlike towns settled earlier, no specific plan was made for a town center, with the result that Sanbornton Square arose organically as the principal site of civic and religious life in the town.

[2] The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The oldest surviving element of the original town is the old cemetery, which lies at the northern end of the district.

The rest of the district is residential, with a number of houses dating to the late 18th century, and most of the remaining buildings dating to the first half of the 19th century.

Federal and Greek Revival styling predominate in the district; most of these buildings are wood-frame structures with clapboard siding.