The New Richmond East Side Historic District represents the development of a concentrated residential neighborhood from the 1870s to the 1920s. Much of construction within the district took place during a long period of economic development and expansion common for cities across Wisconsin. However, this development was arrested by a tornado in 1899 that destroyed much of the city and its entire commercial core. The city was then rebuilt, with most of the historic properties near the center of town completed in the years immediately following the destruction. The houses of the east side, along the block facing East 2nd Street, made up a diverse and middle-class neighborhood that predated the tornado and continued to flourish afterward. Common to New Richmond, most houses are of wood frame construction and siding and display the popular styles of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

The district has a large concentration of architecturally significant residential buildings reflecting the continuity of architectural design trends through the 1920s.