Derby, Vermont

Derby is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,579 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous community in Orleans County. The town contains four unincorporated villages: Beebe Plain, Clyde Pond, Lake Salem, and North Derby, and two incorporated villages: Derby Center and Derby Line.

The northernmost town located along Interstate 91, the Town of Derby encompasses the largest area in Orleans County.

Geography

thumb|left|Countryside in Derby, VT

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 57.6 square miles (149.2 km2), of which 49.6 square miles (128.5 km2) is land and 8.0 square miles (20.7 km2) (13.87%) is water. The town lies in the northernmost part of Orleans County, forming part of Vermont's border with the Canadian Province of Quebec, and is otherwise bordered to the east by Holland, the southeast by Morgan and Charleston, the southwest by Coventry and Brownington, and to the west by Newport and Lake Memphremagog.

Lake Salem is within the town boundaries. Clyde Pond was formed by damming the Clyde River.

Government

Derby is represented by Brian Smith (R-Derby) and Larry Labor (R-Morgan) in the Orleans-1 district of the Vermont House of Representatives. It is represented by Robert Starr (D-North Troy) and Russ Ingalls (R-Newport) in the Essex-Orleans district of the Vermont Senate.

Local

Moderator – H. Kendrick Young
Selectmen – Grant Spates, Brad Shattuck, Stephen Gendreau, Brian Smith, Karen Chitambar
Listers – Nancy Moore, Carmi (Mike) Marsh, Mark Linton
2023 Budget – $3,333,270

School district

Director, North Country Union High School – Jesse Tatum (2010)
Director – James Erwin (2009)
Budget – $4,446,922

History

On October 29, 1779, the state of Vermont chartered it to Timothy Andrus and fifty-nine associates, with an area of . It was named after Derby, in England.

In the War of 1812, an expeditionary force of Quebec Eastern Townships' volunteers destroyed a barracks built at Derby with no personnel casualties.

Portus Baxter and David Camp were Underground Railroad agents before the Civil War.

On October 31, 1866, the town erected a granite monument at Derby Center in honor of those who died in the Civil War. It is inscribed: "In Memory of the Volunteers from Derby, who Lost their Lives in the Great Rebellion, 1861-’65.” It lists the names of fifty-three men from Derby. It is the oldest community memorial to that war in the United States.

The failed town of Salem was annexed to Derby by an act of the legislature of 1880, and took effect March 1, 1881. This increased the land size of Derby so it became the largest in Orleans County.

In 1917, the city of Newport was formed from portions of the towns of Newport (the former village of Newport) and Derby (the former village of West Derby).

In 1928, the Canadian Gateway Airport opened off Vermont Route 111, within walking distance from Derby Center. It was the third airport constructed in the state. The larger and older airport, Burlington, was given the designation of "entry airport" from Canada resulting in the closure of Gateway in 1933.

A drive-in theater opened in 1950 and closed in 1985 on the Derby Road (Route 5).

Demographics

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Derby town, Vermont – Racial composition

!Race (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!% 2010

!% 2000

!Pop 2010

!Pop 2000

|White alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |93.5%

|97.1%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,280

|4,486

|4,472

|Black alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.3%

|0.4%

|0.2%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |14

|19

|11

|American Indian alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.4%

|0.2%

|0.5%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |17

|10

|22

|Asian alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.2%

|0.3%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7

|14

|12

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0%

|0%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.1%

|0%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4

|Multiracial (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4%

|1.2%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |183

|57

|55

|Hispanic/Latino (any race)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.6%

|0.7%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |74

|34

|31

As of the census

Newer construction is overflowing from Newport onto the Newport-Derby Road (US Route 5). Large retailers and other stores and restaurants are located on this stretch of road as well.

The headquarters of the Community National Bank, which has 12 branches in Vermont, is located in Derby.

Indoor Recreation of Orleans County (IROC) was constructed in 2004 and featured a sports arena, aquatic center and a multipurpose gymnasium facility that could be utilized for a range of sports, including basketball, volleyball and indoor soccer. The facility was foreclosed in 2013 and has been converted into a hardware store, Sticks N Stuff.

Media

Radio

WMOO – 92.1 FM; Derby Center

Notable people

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Charles Kendall Adams, educator and historian
Portus Baxter, United States Representative
David M. Camp, Lieutenant Governor of Vermont 1836–1841
Enoch Chase, Wisconsin state senator
Horace Chase, mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Lucius G. Fisher, businessman and Wiscosnin state legislator
Aaron H. Grout, son of Josiah Grout and Vermont Secretary of State
Josiah Grout, 46th governor of Vermont
Willie Johnston, Civil War era Medal of Honor recipient; known as the "Little Drummer Boy"

Benjamin H. Steele, Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
William Tyler, first Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Hartford

Transportation

With , Derby has the most miles of road of any town or city in Orleans County. Derby also has the most Class 3 roads (dirt) of any town in Orleans County.

The town contains the northern termini of both Interstate 91 and U.S. Route 5, which parallel each other over the entire length of their routes. Interstate 91 has its final three interchanges in Derby. Several Vermont state routes, including Vermont Route 105, Vermont Route 111, and Vermont Route 191 also serve the town of Derby.

The Rural Community Transportation provides buses for general use, four buses north and south during the week from west Newport city to Derby Center, and two buses each way on Saturday. There is no fare. These provide special services for the handicapped and the elderly upon request.