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DERBY, TEXAS
Frio County, South
Texas
28° 46' 15.6" N, 99° 7' 48" W (28.771, -99.13)
Intersection of Interstate 35 and FM 1583
9 Miles SW of Pearsall the county
seat
ZIP 78061
Area code 830
Population: 50 Est. (2000, 1990)
Derby, Texas Area Hotels › Pearsall
Hotels |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Although a post
office operated here in 1882 (as Lenore, Texas), the arrival
of the railroad (The International Great Northern) brought engineer
John Bennet here to oversee construction of the railroad’s extention
to the Mexican border.
The community was renamed Derby for Bennet’s British birthplace.
Bennet, who owned land here, divided his land into lots and added
a railroad spur to expedite the shipping of vegetables. The expansion
of the town resulted in a temporary change of name. Bennet renamed
it Otley (for his wife’s British home) but in 1906 it reverted
back to Derby.
Bennet also
built a dam and later established an irrigation system fed by large
artesian wells. Cotton, and vegetable farming provided a substantial
foundation, although the population was a mere 50 residents in the
1930s.
The population remained around 50 through the 1990s but the town
didn’t add any new businesses due to the proximity of the county
seat.
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1920s Frio
County map showing Derby
on The International Great Northern Railraod
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
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