Melbourne, Arkansas
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1951 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Mill Creek Township. It lies in ZIP code area 72556. The Survey maps it on the Melbourne quadrangle. 1,830 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 610 feet above sea level.
On record in Melbourne
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 5 records
Arnold Springs Farmsteadlisted 2010
Izard County Courthouselisted 1993
Jumbo Church of Christlisted 1999
Philadelphia Methodist Churchlisted 1976
Rector Log Barnlisted 1993
Population over time
4 figuresMelbourne grew from 149 to 1,830 between 1880 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 149 | |
| 2000 | 1,673 | |
| 2010 | 1,848 | +175 (+10%) |
| 2020 | 1,830 | -18 (-1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 10 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1951 USGS Melbourne quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Poplar Bluff quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Poplar Bluff quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Poplar Bluff quadrangle1:250000
- 1976 USGS Melbourne SW quadrangle1:24000
- 1983 USGS Cherokee Village quadrangle1:100000
- 1984 USGS Melbourne quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
169 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 169 fires within 5 miles of Melbourne between 1997 and 2020, burning about 3,672 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 47 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 63 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 47 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Natural | 3 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 2002 | Debris and open burning | 80 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 September 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 24 September 2015 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 19 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 19 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 16 September 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Melbourne: 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown |
Storms near this place
52 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Melbourne in 52 storm reports between 1993 and 2023: 31 thunderstorm wind, 17 hail, 1 tornado, 1 heavy rain. The reports record 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1996 | Tornado (F3) | Melbourne | 2 hurt, $1,000,000 | no account filed |
| September 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | $500,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew the roof off the drive-thru at a bank and several metal buildings were damaged. A high school gymnasium roof also sustained damage. |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | $125,000 | Part of the roof of a house was torn off, allowing water to run inside and ruin many of the furnishings in the house. The roof was also taken off of a pole barn. |
| September 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | $50,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed some trees and power lines. |
| August 2011 | Lightning | Melbourne | $25,000 | Lightning struck a tree in Melbourne, causing it to catch fire. After the fire was extinguished, it was discovered that there was also a leak in a 1.5 inch natural gas line. The gas company responded to repair the leak. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | $5,000 | Two trees and a power line were blown down. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | $5,000 | Several trees were blown down. |
| February 2023 | Flash Flood | Melbourne | - | Multiple roads were underwater and impassable across Izard County. |
| January 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | Trees were reported down. |
| May 2020 | Hail | Melbourne | - | Received a social media video of quarter size hail in Melbourne. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | A tree was blown down on a house and caused significant structural damage. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | Trees were down on Pine St. in Melbourne. Trees knocked down power lines. |
| October 2009 | Heavy Rain | Melbourne | - | In Melbourne, it was the wettest October ever recorded. |
| December 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | Large limbs were down on Arkansas Highway 9. |
| April 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | Trees and power lines were blown down. |
| April 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | The Local Coordinator reported there were trees and power lines down. |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | Trees and power lines were blown down, with a roof removed from a trailer. |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | Large tree limbs were downed and shingles were removed from several roofs about 4 miles southwest of Melbourne. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | Several large trees blown down. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | Power lines and large tree limbs were blown down. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | Trees and power lines were blown down in Horseshoe Bend. Some of the trees fell on houses but caused little if any damage. |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | Thunderstorm winds downed some trees and power lines, blew the porch off the front of a house and knocked down some road signs. Several homes also had shingles torn off their roofs. |
| April 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | Trees and power lines were blown down. |
| August 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | Thunderstorm winds downed some large tree limbs. |
| September 1993 | Hail | Melbourne | - | Thunderstorm winds blew the roof off the drive-thru at a bank and several metal buildings were damaged. A high school gymnasium roof also sustained damage. |
| April 2018 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| April 2018 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| May 2009 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| May 2009 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| September 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| April 2003 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| April 2003 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| September 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| September 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| March 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| March 1996 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
| April 1994 | Hail | Melbourne | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Melbourne | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q79459 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 77643. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






