Derby dates to 1642, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #131 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 11 buildings. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1790.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Derby is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #131 of 155 in Connecticut. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Derby’s overall grade.
Connecticut towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Connecticut town has 73.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Derby’s 13.6 sits below most of its state (17% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 17 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1642.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Derby’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Derby was settled in 1642 as an Indian trading post under the name Paugasset by John Wakeman of New Haven, though fur traders had been in the area before and Native Americans had lived there for centuries. In 1651, the first year-round houses were completed, at which time the New Haven Colony had recognized Paugasset as a town. The residents of the town of Milford protested Paugasset's recognition as an independent town and, as a result, the order was rescinded and Paugasset returned to the Milford jurisdiction. In 1675, the former plantation of Paugasset was admitted as the township of Derby by the state legislature, named after Derby, England. Derby was incorporated on May 13, 1775.
Passages that mention Derby, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of the old town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-1880. With biographies and genealogies1880 · page 446Read the page →
Read the text
In 1700 Maj. Ebenezer Johnson and Ens. Samuel Riggs purchased of the Indians a tract of land extending from their land in the vicinity of Pine's Bridge southward so as to join that eral times as historical, that Milford at first owned the township of Derby, it is proper to say that the first land deeded by the Indians to the Milford Company extended only so far north as to the mouth of Two-Mile brook, which is about a mile below Derby Narrows. Ten years after the organization of the town of Derby, Milford purchased one piece of land of the Indians, lying north of the Derby and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of the old town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-18801880 · page 446Read the page →
Read the text
In 1700 Maj. Ebenezer Johnson and Ens. Samuel Riggs purchased of the Indians a tract of land extending from their land in the vicinity of Pine's Bridge southward so as to join that eral times as historical, that Milford at first owned the township of Derby, it is proper to say that the first land deeded by the Indians to the Milford Company extended only so far north as to the mouth of Two-Mile brook, which is about a mile below Derby Narrows. Ten years after the organization of the town of Derby, Milford purchased one piece of land of the Indians, lying north of the Derby and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of the old town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-1880. With biographies and genealogies1880 · page 105Read the page →
Read the text
The first record made in the town in regard to schools and education, is the following. "Sept. 29, 1701. Agreed that it be left with the Townsmen of Derby to procure a school master for the town of Derby according as the law in that matter requireth." On the eleventh of the next December, the town took another action, as follows: "The Townsmen of Derby, viz. : the four following, Capt Ebenezer Johnson; Ensign Samuel Riggs, Isaac Nichols, Sergeant Brinsmade, agreed with me
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of the old town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-18801880 · page 105Read the page →
Read the text
The first record made in the town in regard to schools and education, is the following. "Sept. 29, 1701. Agreed that it be left with the Townsmen of Derby to procure a school master for the town of Derby according as the law in that matter requireth." On the eleventh of the next December, the town took another action, as follows : " The Townsmen of Derby, viz. : the four following, Capt Ebenezer Johnson, Ensign Samuel Riggs, Isaac Nichols, Sergeant Brinsmade, agreed with me
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Derby, decade by decade
5 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1642, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Derby’s post office opened in 1797, and the first U.S. census counted 2,994 people here in 1790.
How does Derby rank for history?
Derby is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #131 of 155 in Connecticut. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Derby?
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Sterling Opera House (listed 1968, the first), and 1 historic district, the Birmingham Green Historic District, with 11 contributing buildings. 17 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Derby?
18% of Derby’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1967.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (7), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1898
1898
1904
1904
1904
1904
1907–1915
1907–1915
c. 1908
1909
c. 1909
1909
