New Preston Hill Common is located in the northwestern corner of the Town of Washington on the New Preston Hill Road east of New Preston. It is approached up hill from the east and west on New Preston Hill Road. As one comes over the rise from the east, the steeple of the field stone Congregational Church (1824) on the western edge of the common is dramatically apparent. The three stone buildings including the church (not facing the common but New Preston Hill Road), the small stone schoolhouse (1850) next to it, and Newton's Tavern (c. 1800; now a residence) represents the center of a larger farming community. Open fields and remnants of old stone fences border the common on the east. On the south, trees hide most of Reverend Whittlesey's House (1808). As a result, the church is the most dominant feature at these crossroads where the overriding impression is that of a rural, early 19th century village center that time has passed by.

The common consists of two triangles divided by New Preston Hill Road. Gunn Hill Road to the north and Findley Road to the south are both dirt roads, a testimonial to the rural nature of this tiny hiltop hamlet. The common itself remains basically unimproved. A tree is symmetrically planted on either side of New Preston Hill Road at the western edge of the common. Trees of about the same age were also planted along the north side of Gunn Hill Road on the other side of the road from the green (which, according to the assessor's map is owned by the Society). A stone fence beyond the line of trees suggests an earlier boundary of the common. A heavy growth of deciduous trees in a low area at the western edge of the southern triangle hides the old tavern from view of the green. The common is well-manicured, in contrast to the more naturalistic appearance of the rural surroundings.