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C+History
History · Melbourne

Melbourne’s post office opened in 1876, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Melbourne was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Its Register listings are the Rector Log Barn, the Izard County Courthouse and the Arnold Springs Farmstead. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1880.

1876first post office
3on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Melbourne’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Melbourne began

When was Melbourne founded?

1876

The Melbourne post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mill Creek (1854), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 149 in 18802020 census: 1,830150 years

How historic is Melbourne?

C+

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Melbourne post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Melbourne’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Melbourne is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Melbourne’s overall grade.
Founding era1876, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.9% of homes (±4.5) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register3 listings, 7 historic buildings, 30.9 per 10,000 residents · typical AR town 20.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 42%
NewerOlder

Arkansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Arkansas town has 20.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Melbourne’s 30.9 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Melbourne’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Melbourne’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view05 04 1991 Pioneer Day Melbourne AR - Z…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Melbourne, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Melbourne yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Melbourne is a city in and the county seat of Izard County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, Melbourne had a population of 1,830. It is home to the main campus of Ozarka College.

Its first post office opened in 1876. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,848 in 2010, 1,830 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Melbourne, 1854 to 1991

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Mill Creek post office opens
  3. 1876Post officeThe Mill Creek post office closes
  4. 1876Post officeThe Melbourne post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1911Born hereGlen D. Johnson is born here
  7. 1929Born hereJohn E. Miller is born here
  8. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1991In the archive05 04 1991 Pioneer Day Melbourne AR - Zelda Shaw - Miss
By decade

Melbourne, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s4 items
05 04 1991 Pioneer Day Melbourne AR - Zelda Shaw - Miss199105 04 1991 Pioneer Day Melbourne AR - Zelda Shaw - Mi…05 1991 Melbourne mural199105 1991 Melbourne muralHard Times or Good Ole Days Float 19911991Hard Times or Good Ole Days Float 1991John E Miller - Pioneer Day1991John E Miller - Pioneer Day
Today3 recent
Arnld92014Arnld9ARMap-doton-Melbourne2005ARMap-doton-MelbourneOzarkaCollegeUSGS2001OzarkaCollegeUSGS
On the map

Melbourne on the map, 1951 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Melbourne. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Melbourne on the 1951 USGS mapMelbourne on the 1976 USGS mapMelbourne on the 1984 USGS map1951Melbourne sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Melbourne.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Melbourne

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1993
Rector Log Barn
Rector Log BarnIzard County CourthouseArnold Springs Farmstead
Buildings
Rector Log BarnBuilding
Izard County CourthouseBuilding
Arnold Springs FarmsteadBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Melbourne, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,848

Between 149 and 1,848 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Melbourne’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Melbourne

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Glen D. JohnsonAmerican politician · b. 1911
John E. MillerAmerican politician · b. 1929
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Melbourne’s post office has been open since 1876. Another post office, Mill Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mill Creek
1854–1876
Melbourne
1876–today
18501940today
1cemetery inside Melbourne
Lawrence

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Melbourne’s history

What year was Melbourne founded?

The Melbourne post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Melbourne rank for history?

Melbourne is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Melbourne?

Three places: the Rector Log Barn (listed 1993), the Izard County Courthouse (1993) and the Arnold Springs Farmstead (2010).

How old are the homes in Melbourne?

5% of Melbourne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1984.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (7), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.