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History · Derby

Derby’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Derby. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
4recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Derby is a city in Lucas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 90 at the time of the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 115 to 90 (-22%). Half of its homes were built before 1953.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Derby yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Derby’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Derby’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Derby

See all 2 →
L. J. DickinsonL. J. DickinsonPolitics & LawTom Bentley ThrockmortonTom Bentley ThrockmortonNotable
By decade

Derby, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today4 photos
DerbyIowaCommunityCenterCommonsDerbyIowaCommunityCenter2025DerbyIowaCinderPathCommonsDerbyIowaCinderPath2025DerbyIowaPopPlotCommonsDerbyIowaPopPlot2021IAMap-doton-DerbyCommonsIAMap-doton-Derby2004
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Derby is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Derby has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Burlington Railroad Overpass in Chariton, 9 miles away.

Derby and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Derby. Tap a dot.
Burlington Railroad OverpassChariton Cemetery Historic DistrictA. J. Stephens HouseChariton Masonic TempleCaviness, Carl L., Post 102, American LegionLucas County Courthouse Square Historic District

Closest to Derby

Burlington Railroad OverpassChariton · Structure9miChariton Cemetery Historic DistrictChariton · District9.1miA. J. Stephens HouseChariton · Building9.3miChariton Masonic TempleChariton · Building9.7miCaviness, Carl L., Post 102, American LegionChariton · Building9.7mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Burlington Railroad Overpass’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Derby?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Derby’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Humeston📜 Lucas📜 Le Roy📜 Woodburn

From Wikimedia Commons (4). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The coffee’s on

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You’re in Derby, IAView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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