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B+History
History · Derry

Derry’s post office opened in 1827, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #92 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it

Most of Derry was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks and a historic district with 22 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1830.

1827first post office
4on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
17famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Derry’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Derry began

When was Derry founded?

1827

The Derry post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Derry Depot (1854), Hubbard (1888) and West Derry (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 2,178 in 18302020 census: 34,317199 years

How historic is Derry?

B+

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Derry post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Derry’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Derry is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #92 of 126 in New Hampshire. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Derry’s overall grade.
Founding era1827, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19407.5% of homes (±2.1) · typical NH town 17.5% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register4 listings, 25 historic buildings, 7.3 per 10,000 residents · typical NH town 9.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 65%
NewerOlder
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 27%

New Hampshire towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Hampshire town has 9.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Derry’s 7.3 sits near the middle of its state (43% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 25 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Derry’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Derry, and 8 old place names are still on the map.A historic districtThe East Derry Historic District takes in 22 historic buildings.A National Historic Landmark4 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks.On the map since 19056 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1985. Watch Derry change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Derry’s post office has been open since 1827. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Derry
1827–today
Derry Depot
1854–1899
East Derry
1870–today
Hubbard
1888–1910
West Derry
1899–1907
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Chases GroveCollettes GroveConleys GroveDerry VillageEast DerryHowards GroveHubbardPeppermint Corner
Gone or out of use
Floyd Elementary Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Derry
Forest Hill

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the National Register

4 listings protect 25 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
2
Robert Frost Homestead
historic buildings protected
25
each building in a district counts
first listed
1968
Robert Frost Homestead
Adams Memorial BuildingEast Derry Historic DistrictRobert Frost Homestead★Matthew Thornton House★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Neo-Classical Revival1
Italianate1
Colonial Revival1
★ Landmark
Robert Frost HomesteadBuilding
★ Landmark
Matthew Thornton HouseBuilding
Adams Memorial BuildingBuilding
East Derry Historic DistrictFederal

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Derry came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Derry.

Read it all →

The area was first settled by Scots-Irish families in 1719 as part of the town of Londonderry, as were present-day Windham and portions of Manchester, Salem and Hudson. The town of Derry was formed in 1827 from the eastern portion of Londonderry and was named, like Londonderry, after the city of Derry in Ireland. The first potato planted in the United States was sown in Derry in the town's common field in 1719. The town is the location of two of America's oldest private schools, Pinkerton Academy, founded in 1814 and still in operation, and the closed Adams Female Seminary.

ChaptersHistorical postcards

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Derry in 1915

Passages that mention Derry, cut from the printed page as they were published.

H'est Parish, or Londonderry Presbyterian Meeting-House. — February 25, 1740, the New Hampshire Legislature incorporated a second parish in Londonderry. It took the name of the West Parish, and embraced all the present town of Londonderry and a considerable part of Derry. The first meeting-house of…
History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire1915 · page 521Read the page →
Read the text

H'est Parish, or Londonderry Presbyterian Meeting-House. — February 25, 1740, the New Hampshire Legislature incorporated a second parish in Londonderry. It took the name of the West Parish, and embraced all the present town of Londonderry and a considerable part of Derry. The first meeting-house of the parish was erected near the old graveyard certainly as early as 1735. and may have been as early as March 14. 1733. as that was the date of the call to Rev. David McGregor, the first pastor. It was never fully finished, and probably only occasional services were held in it. The

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
John Porter was liorn in Bridgewater. Mass.. February 2(). 177^1. He completed his college course at Dartmouth in 1803, and studied law with Aaron Hutchinson, Esq.. of Lebanon, and in 1806 began to practice in Derry (then Londonderry). He represented that town in the State Legislature for five year…
History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire1915 · page 61Read the page →
Read the text

John Porter was liorn in Bridgewater. Mass.. February 2(). 177^1. He completed his college course at Dartmouth in 1803, and studied law with Aaron Hutchinson, Esq.. of Lebanon, and in 1806 began to practice in Derry (then Londonderry). He represented that town in the State Legislature for five years, and the town of Derry for ten years. He was also a member of one of the commissions to revise the statutes of the state.

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.

Timeline

Derry, 1827 to 1985

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1827Post officeThe Derry post office opens
  3. 1847In the archiveVerso Derry Bank 5 dollars 1842
  4. 1854Post officeThe Derry Depot post office opens
  5. 1870Post officeThe East Derry post office opens
  6. 1899Post officeThe Derry Depot post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1907In the archiveBusiness Section, West
  10. 1916In the archiveThe Emerson Pennington Shoe Factory, Derry, N.H. July, 17, 1916
  11. 1920In the archiveAdams Memorial Building, West
  12. 1922Born hereBuddy Stewart is born here
  13. 1923Born hereAlan Shepard is born here
  14. 1968LandmarkRobert Frost Homestead named a National Historic Landmark
  15. 1971LandmarkMatthew Thornton House named a National Historic Landmark
  16. 1974Born hereTricia Dunn-Luoma is born here
  17. 1985Born hereMatt Taven is born here
By decade

Derry, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1840s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1840s1 item
Verso Derry Bank 5 dollars 18421847Verso Derry Bank 5 dollars 1842
1900s–1920s4 items
Business Section, West1907Business Section, WestPostcardHEH Shoe Factory, Westc. 1909HEH Shoe Factory, WestPostcardThe Emerson Pennington Shoe Factory, Derry, N.H. July, 17, 19161916The Emerson Pennington Shoe Factory, Derry, N.H. July…PostcardAdams Memorial Building, Westc. 1920Adams Memorial Building, WestPostcard
1930s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Baptist Church, WestDate?Baptist Church, WestPostcard
Today12 recent
Derry, NH from airplane January 20262026Derry, NH from airplane January 2026Don't Blame Me I Voted for McCain bumpersticker Derry NH July 20232023Don't Blame Me I Voted for McCain bumpersticker Derry…NH Route 1022022NH Route 102Derry Station2022Derry StationBeaver Lake2022Beaver LakeRockingham Recreational Rail Trail, Fremont Branch2021Rockingham Recreational Rail Trail, Fremont BranchAlanshephardgrave2018AlanshephardgraveDon Ball Park2017Don Ball ParkIsland Pond2016Island PondPatate2013PatateHildreth Hall Derry, N.H. 19142010Hildreth Hall Derry, N.H. 1914PostcardBirch Street Bridge2009Birch Street BridgePostcard
On the map

Derry on the map, 1905 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Derry. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Derry on the 1905 USGS mapDerry on the 1941 USGS mapDerry on the 1953 USGS mapDerry on the 1968 USGS mapDerry on the 1977 USGS mapDerry on the 1985 USGS map1905Manchester sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Derry.

Every building

Derry, building by building, 1921

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 sheet.

Derry fire insurance map, 1921, sheet 11921Sheet 1 of 12
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Verso Derry Bank 5 dollars 1842
Retake this viewVerso Derry Bank 5 dollars 1842, 1847

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Derry’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Derry, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,000185019001950200034,317

Grew from 2,178 people in 1830 to 34,317 in 2020, more than tenfold.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Derry’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

17 famous people were born in Derry

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Alan ShepardAmerican astronaut, first American in space, lu… · b. 1923
Matt TavenAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1985
Buddy StewartAmerican musician · b. 1922
T
Tricia Dunn-LuomaIce hockey player · b. 1974
G
Gary IndianaAmerican writer, playwright, poet, photographer… · b. 1950
Aaron Fletcher StevensUnion Union Army General officer · b. 1819
Help out

Finish Derry’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewVerso Derry Bank 5 dollars 1842: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Sandown2 historic placesB+Londonderry1 historic placeBAtkinson1 historic placeBWindham2 historic placesBHampstead1 historic placeBChester3 historic placesA−Salem1 historic placeB

Questions about Derry’s history

What year was Derry founded?

The Derry post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Derry rank for history?

Derry is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #92 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Derry?

4 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 3 buildings, among them the Robert Frost Homestead (a National Historic Landmark since 1968), and 1 historic district, the East Derry Historic District, with 22 contributing buildings. 25 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Derry?

8% of Derry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1983.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.