Old Derby Academy Building // 1840

The Derby Literary and Theological Institute, a private boarding school, was opened in 1840 by the Danville Baptist Association on a one-acre plot of land donated by local landowners Lemuel Richmond and Benjamin Hinman. The academy housed 147 students of nearby towns for classes. Two years later, an atheneaum was established in the building as a local library for residents. The building would later become Derby’s public Jr. and Sr. High School as the town’s population at the time was just over 2,000 residents. The school was eventually outgrown and a modern school was built, located nextdoor. This building was gifted to the Derby Historical Society who maintain it to this day.

Derby House Hotel // 1896

The Derby House Hotel is located on Main Street in Derby Center, Vermont and was built in 1896 by Ms. Luvia A. Rickard, a widow. Since its construction, the hotel has been at the center of both the commercial and social activities of Derby Center and is one of the town’s few Second Empire style buildings. While built in the Second Empire style, then in declining use in Vermont, the Derby House Hotel was adorned with high-style touches including elaborately detailed porches and hardware. The rear section afforded extra living space, and a livery stable/barn provided for the guests’ horses and carriages. Luvia ran the hotel for extra income until her death in 1905. It appears that after, her son Harry took over the hotel for a few years until he sold the property to Albert C. Fellows, a local businessman. Tourism never really took-off in the early-mid decades of the 20th century, and the hotel was converted to apartments, a use that remains to this day.

Dudley W. Davis House // c.1900

Dudley William Davis (1857-1942) was born in Quebec, Canada and eventually moved to the United States, graduating from Bates College and settling in the border town of Derby, Vermont. Here, he engaged in business and became the cashier, and eventual President of the Derby Line National Bank (featured previously). His success in banking afforded him the ability to purchase a house lot on high ground in town, and he had this large home built. Clad with wood shingle siding and a prominent cross-gambrel roof, the house retains much of its original architectural integrity.

Derby Line National Bank // 1874

Another of the more stately institutional buildings in the small village of Derby Line, Vermont, the Derby Line National Bank stands out as an uncommon brick structure on the town’s Main Street. The bank was founded in 1851, as the People’s Bank in Derby Line and in 1865, it converted to a national charter and became National Bank of Derby Line. The bank provided citizens access to credit and as a result several small-scale manufacturing businesses were started in town. This brick banking structure was built in 1874 in the Italianate style with round arched windows, bracketed eaves, and granite block quoins at the corners. The bank was absorbed into the Community National Bank, who occupy the building to this day.

Butterfield Mansion – Derby Line Village Inn // 1903

Once described in a local history book as: “The largest, most glamorous home ever built in this [Derby Line] village”, the Butterfield Mansion is one of Northern Vermont’s best early 20th century houses. The house was built between 1901-1903 for Gen. Franklin G. Butterfield (1842-1916) who before this, received the country’s highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action at Salem Heights, Virginia on May 4, 1863 during the American Civil War. He would eventually move to Derby, Vermont, where he established the Butterfield Company, who specialized manufacturing axle cutters. Butterfield hired architects, James T. Ball and Gilbert H. Smith of Boston, who also designed the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in town that same year, to design his Colonial Revival mansion and intact carriage house. Today, the Butterfield Mansion is known as the Derby Line Village Inn.

Derby Line Universalist Church // 1840

Located adjacent to the former IOOF Hall of Derby Line, Vermont, the Derby Universalist Church stands as an well-preserved example of a New England village church in the Greek Revival style. The church was erected in 1840 as the Derby Line Free Church for local Episcopalians. In 1871, Universalist Unitarians were able to acquire the church and they have remained here ever since. The building has a boxed belfry with projecting pilastered facade and smooth siding, all hallmarks for Classically designed churches of the 1840s.

Derby Line Village Hall // 1887

This small wood-frame structure sits in the middle of Derby Line Village and is a good example of a local meeting hall embellished with Classical details. This structure was originally built as an Odd Fellows Hall in 1887, where local and regional members could hold events and meetings. In 1940 the IOOF Hall was moved back on its lot so that It had a similar set back to other buildings on the street, and it was renovated to a village hall for all residents, a use that remains to this day.

Derby Line Border Station // 1932

Located on the border of Canada in the northern part of Vermont, Derby is a charming town named after Derby, in England.  Located in the region known as the Northeast Kingdom, the area has benefitted from timber, maple sugaring, hop vineyards, and dairy production in its history since it was settled in 1795. This border crossing is located between the villages of Derby Line, Vermont and Stanstead, Quebec, both of which are developed up to the border, and without the security and signage, you’d never guess they are different countries! The cross-border relationship was cemented in part by the construction in 1904 of the Haskell Free Library and Opera House (last post), which straddles the border and provides library services to both communities. This station was formally opened in 1932, when the main building was completed. It is one of several standardized inspection station layouts developed by the United States Treasury Department, and was the largest and most architecturally sophisticated of those built in Vermont in the 1930s. It was built as part of a program to improve border security developed to respond to increased use of the automobile, increased illegal border crossing, and smuggling related to Prohibition. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the border was secured and a new station directly on the border was built.

Haskell Free Library and Opera House // 1901

How many buildings do you know of that straddle two countries?! Well, here is one of the most iconic buildings in Vermont, the Haskell Free Library and Opera House of Derby. The building was gifted to the villages of Derby Line, Vermont and Rock Island, Quebec, by Martha Stewart Haskell and her son, Horace Stewart Haskell, who wanted to leave their mark on the town. The building was designed by James Ball of Rock Island, Quebec and is a high-style structure comprised of both a library and opera house for residents. Designed in a eclectic mix of Romanesque Revival and Classical Revival, there is a lot to look at from both countries! Some of the outstanding features of the building include the structural and ornamental use of granite, stained glass windows imported from Scotland, ornate fireplaces and rich woodworking on the library interior, and one of the most elaborate opera house interiors in a completely preserved condition in Vermont.

Samuel Read Hall House // 1831

Samuel Read Hall (1795–1877) was an American educator, who in 1823, started the first normal school, or school for training of teachers and educators, in the United States. He helped found the American Institute of Instruction in 1829, the oldest educational association in the U.S. He served as pastor in Brownington and Granby, Vermont from v 1846 to 1875 and would also become the principal and teacher at the Orleans County Grammar School in Brownington. He lived in this Federal style house in the village until his death. The Hall House is now a part of the Old Stone House Museum and Historic Village. Fun Fact: Samuel Read Hall is said to have been the earliest person to introduce the blackboard to the American classroom!