The Borough of Darby is situated about seven and a half miles from Center City Philadelphia, on the east side of Darby Creek which empties into the Delaware River a little above Chester. In 1682 Darby was settled by eight English Quaker families, previously, there had been a number of Swedish settlers in the area. John Blunston, the so-called founder of Darby, purchased 350 acres of land and named the settlement Darby after his ancestral home in England. William Wood joined Blunston in settling at Darby, acquiring 320 acres which supposedly included all the land upon which the original village of Darby stood.One of the original eight landowners was John Bartram, whose namesake, born in Darby in 1699, pioneered botany in America.. In 1683, Darby was recognized as a municipal district and Thomas Worth was appointed Constable of the Court. The Darby settlers then formed a meeting and the first minutes of the Darby Friends were taken on May 2, 1684. The first meetinghouse was built in 1687 and in 1692 a school was established. The Darby Friends Burial Ground was established in 1682 and it is here that John Bartram, the botanist, is buried.

Darby became a mill town in 1685 and by 1693 there were three grist mills and a fulling mill on the banks of Darby Creek. These became known as the Darby Mills and in an assessment made in 1695 they were listed as the most valuable properties in the county.

By the close of the 18th century, Darby had a meetinghouse, burial ground, school, mills, and roads leading to Philadelphia, Radnor, and Chester. It was an established community with transportation, industry and culture. The economy was predominately agricultural with some services provided at the mill and by various skilled artisans.

The Darby Library Company was formed in 1743 by 29 townsmen, thereby establishing the second oldest circulating library in the United States. The Library purchased 45 volumes at a cost of 11 pounds, 10 shillings sterling and 43 of these original 45 volumes are still on display. John Person, the first librarian, kept the library in his home, this being sold in 1804, the library was removed to his new quarters at the corner of New and High Streets (currently 9th and Main Streets) where it remained until 1871. At that time it was moved to a room over Philip Sipler's saddle shop (currently Darby Hardware at 883 Main Street). In 1872 a lot at the corner of Serrill (currently 10th Street) and Main Street was purchased from David H. Flickner for $1,000.00. Members and citizens raised the sum of $8,895.54 to pay for construction costs and within the year the current library building was completed.

The Darby Fire Company #1 was formed in 1775 and is the oldest continuously operating fire company in America today. It currently houses the "Darby Ram": which is our oldest piece of fire fighting equipment, being build in England in 1749.

Many of the buildings built during the 18th and 19th centuries are still prominent structures of the community, namely:

		1730 - The Bunting House, 1205 Main Street
		1734 - 1006 Main Street
		1740 - 1123/1125 Main Street
		1750 - Woodmount, 715 Darby Terrace
		1752 - Darby Friends (originally a school) 1019 Main Street
		1805 - Darby Friends Meetinghouse (the original built in 1687 burned), 
                       1017 Main Street
		1854 - First Presbyterian Church, 4th and Main Streets
		1860 - Fuller Street, a short row of mill worker residences
		1870 - Painters Gardens, 1016 Main Street
		1872 - Darby Free Library, 1001 Main Street
		1880 - 1121 Main Street
                1880 - Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church (this date is approximate), 
                       10th & Center Streets
		1906 - Woodburne, Springfield Road

In 1870 the Darby Improvement of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad was laid out, bringing with it a station far from the center of town (due to terrain, the railroad tracks were laid on the straightest and flattest land). This, along with the introduction of an earlier stage line and horse drawn railroad made Darby accessible to Philadelphians. Many wealthy city-dwellers purchased country homes in Darby, away from the bustle of Philadelphia.

Development and population escalated in Darby during the early 20th century. Making Darby an extension of the urban area of southwest Philadelphia. The open landscape of earlier eras was replaced by two-story.brick, semi-detached housing. An extensive trolley system was composed of various lines running to Philadelphia and other communities along Chester Pike, as well as to the borough of Yeadon..

The increase of immigration on a national scale was not lost on Darby., The growth of Catholicism was a prominent element of the 20th century. Whereas the Friends and colonial Darby go hand-in-hand, so do the Catholics and modern Darby. It is ironic that the same year the Friends school closed (1917) the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic school was opened. The Friends' cultural landmarks included a burial ground, a meetinghouse, and a school. Likewise, the Catholic landmarks included Holy Cross Cemetery (partly in Darby) Blessed Virgin Mary Church and school.

Darby Borough is an extensively integrated community pushing forward into the 21st century. The Darby Borough Historical and Preservation Society's main mission is to document and preserve what is historically significant while building on the strengths of all of the Borough's citizens.

Some of the information in this short history of Darby Borough was taken from an Historic Sites Survey done by the Delaware County Planning Department in May 1989, other information is from local citizens and members of the Darby Borough Historical and Preservation Society.