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.
1897Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Derby Line, 1791 to 1978
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The village was incorporated in 1791. It lies on an elevation at the far north of Derby, which was chartered on October 29, 1779, and first settled in 1795. By 1859, the area was noted for the beauty of its farmhouses and luxuriant farmland, set before the distant vista of Lake Memphremagog and the Green Mountains.
Because of an erratic survey, the border separating Canada from the United States was drawn incorrectly by the surveyors in the 18th century, above the 45th parallel which was the agreed boundary. Derby Line was founded based on that line, above the 45th parallel. The boundary was confirmed by the Webster–Ashburton Treaty in 1842.
Passages that mention Derby Line, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Orleans county, Vermont. Civil, ecclesiastical, biographical and military1882 · page 231Read the page →
Read the text
There is also a stream of water rising near the middle of the town, known as Mill brook, which empties into Barlow River before it reaches Derby Line Village. It was upon, this stream that the first saw-mill was erected in town, and just above where Paran Huntoon's mill now stands. There have also been built a grist-mill and starch-factory, at
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 Line, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. 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.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
c. 1930
1930
2000