Derby Line is an incorporated village in the town of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

in Orleans County,

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, slightly north of the 45th parallel, the nominal U.S.-Canada boundary. The population was 687 at the 2020 census. The village is located on the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

and is contiguous with the district of Rock Island in the town of Stanstead,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Notable buildings include the

Haskell Free Library and Opera House , image = HaskellFreeLibraryandOperaHouse.JPG , caption = Haskell Free Library and Opera House in 2012 , location = Stanstead, Quebec, CanadaDerby Line, Vermont, U.S. , coordinates = , area = , architect = Nate Beach & James Ball , a ...

History

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

farmhouse FarmHouse (FH) is a social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a national organization in 1921. Today FarmHouse has 33 active chapters and four associate ch ...

s and luxuriant

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

, set before the distant vista of

Lake Memphremagog Lake Memphremagog (; french: Lac Memphrémagog) is a fresh water glacial lake located between Newport, Vermont, United States and Magog, Quebec, Canada. The lake spans both Quebec and Vermont, but is mostly in Quebec. Most of the watershed that ...

and the

Green Mountains The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Quebec, Canada. The part of the same range that is in ...

. 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 The Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, was a treaty that resolved several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies (the region that became Canada). Signed under John Tyler's presidency, it ...

in 1842.

Description

Derby Line is known for the

, a

line house A line house is a building deliberately located so that an international boundary passes through it. One such building on the boundary between the United States and Canada is the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Stanstead, Quebec, and De ...

deliberately constructed on the international border and opened in 1904. The donors were a binational couple: Carlos F. Haskell was a local American businessman who owned a number of sawmills, while Martha Stewart Haskell was Canadian. The intent was that people on both sides of the border would have use of the facility, which is now a designated historic site. Patrons of the library from either side of the border may use the facility without going through border security. Besides the library, five inhabited structures are divided by the border. Most residents use the US entrances to avoid problems with the border patrol; crossing the border within buildings does not require official permission. A tool-and-die factory, once operated by the Butterfield division of

Litton Industries Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States named after inventor Charles Litton Sr. During the 1960s, the company began acquiring many unrelated firms and became one of the largest conglomerates in the United States. ...

, is also divided. The factory in Canada closed in 1982 after a lengthy strike by Canadian workers. The factory in Derby Line is open. It was bought in 1988 by Group Tivoly, a cutting tools company based in France, and has 160 employees. There are ramifications to living directly on the border of another country. For example, the

US Border Patrol The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States' Customs and Border Protection and is responsible for securing the borders of the United States. According to its web site in 2022, its mission ...

expressed a desire to close off streets (such as

Canusa Street Canusa Street (french: rue Canusa) is the only part of the Canada–United States border that runs down the middle of a street. The street separates Beebe Plain, Vermont, in the United States, from the Beebe Plain area of Stanstead, Quebec, ...

) which have historically run together with those of Stanstead Town. n many US locales the term for such a political entity is "township".Border officials were concerned about illegal immigration. In 2007, the village of Derby Line met with the Mayor and Council of Stanstead in joint session in Québec, to be addressed by the authorities. Ironically, this meant that the Vermont village's trustee meeting was held in a foreign country, following Vermont procedural rules. A telephone call between Derby Line, Vermont, and Rock Island, Québec, is local.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the village has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 776 people, 329 households, and 225 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 364 housing units at an average density of 496.0 per square mile (192.5/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.78%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.39%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.90% Native American, 0.64%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 1.29% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.13% of the population. There were 329 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.80. In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.

Economy

Personal income

The median income for a household in the village was $33,966, and the median income for a family was $37,375. Males had a median income of $30,208 versus $21,667 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $15,202. About 11.4% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 17.8% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

A local subsidiary of an international tool manufacturer employs 180 workers from the area.

Infrastructure

Roads

The village is the northern terminus of both

Interstate 91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Connecti ...

and

US 5 U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Spring ...

, which both continue northward into Québec as

Quebec Autoroute 55 Autoroute 55 (also called Autoroute de l'Énergie north of the Autoroute 20 and Autoroute Joseph-Armand Bombardier south of it) is an important north–south Autoroute and the only one running in that direction in central Quebec. It is the long ...

and

Quebec Route 143 Route 143 is a north/south highway on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Until the mid-1970s when the province decided to renumber all highways other than autoroutes, it was known as Route/Highway 5. Its northern terminus is in Saint- ...

respectively.

Water

Drinking water for the adjacent towns of Derby Line and Stanstead is pumped from wells in Canada, stored in a reservoir in the United States and distributed through a system maintained by Canadians. Derby Line's sewage makes a cross-border trip for treatment. Derby Line shares emergency crews with Stanstead. Each responds to calls on both sides of the border. Image:View from Station, Derby Line, VT.jpg, View from station c. 1908 Image:Rock Island, QC and Derby Line, VT.jpg, The twin villages c. 1906 Image:Derby Line Hotel, Derby Line, VT.jpg, Derby Line Hotel c. 1908 File:HaskellFreeLibraryandOperaHouse.JPG, Haskell Free Library on the US-Canada border, 2012

References

External links

Town of Derby, Vermont

Haskell Free Library and Opera House

* {{Coord, 45, 0, 17.98, N, 72, 5, 57.97, W, region:US_type:city, display=title Incorporated villages in Vermont Derby, Vermont Border irregularities of the United States Villages in Orleans County, Vermont Populated places established in 1791 1977 establishments in Vermont