Derby

Chartered in 1779, Derby lies in Orleans County along the Canadian border, straddling the southern end of Lake Memphremagog. The town's location on an international boundary has shaped its history from the start — smuggling, cross-border trade, and customs enforcement have all played roles over the centuries. The Haskell Free Library and Opera House, built deliberately on the border line in 1904, sits partly in Derby Line village and partly in Stanstead, Quebec. The audience sits in the United States while performers stand on stage in Canada.

Derby is one of the larger Orleans County towns, with about 4,600 residents spread across several villages including Derby Center, Derby Line, and Derby Village. The town serves as a commercial corridor for the surrounding region, with Route 5 and Interstate 91 passing through. Derby's selectboard oversees a community that balances border-town practicalities with the same Town Meeting traditions found across Vermont. Each March, residents gather to debate budgets, school spending, and local priorities in a process that has been running here for over two centuries.