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History · Melville

A history of Melville,
then and now

Postcards, papers and photographs of Melville from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.

18old images & papers
0recent photos
From Melville’s archive · credits on each photo

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Melville is a town in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Melville had a population of 759. It is part of the Opelousas−Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area. It was founded in 1889 and is known as the Atchafalaya River Catfish Capital of Louisiana. It is directly across the river from the ghost town Red Cross, Louisiana.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,041 to 759 (-27%). Half of its homes were built before 1974.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Melville 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.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1920s18 items · Flooded street with hotel in Melville…Commons
1930–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Help out

Finish Melville’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewFlooded street with hotel in Melv…, 1927: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from MelvilleWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Melville.Meet them →
By decade

Melville, decade by decade

1920s18 items
Flooded street with hotel in Melville Louisiana in 1927CommonsFlooded street with hotel in Melville Louisiana in 19271927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927
1930s–
1990s
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Melville is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Melville has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Lakeside in Morganza, 11.9 miles away.

Melville and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Melville. Tap a dot.
LakesideOld HickorySt. Stephen's Episcopal ChurchBonnie GlenSt. Francis ChapelMix Store and Post Office

Closest to Melville

LakesideMorganza · Building11.9miOld HickoryMorganza · Creole12.7miSt. Stephen's Episcopal ChurchSimmesport · Gothic Revival15miBonnie GlenNew Roads · Creole Greek Revival15.9miSt. Francis ChapelNew Roads · Gothic Revival15.9mi

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. Lakeside’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Melville?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Melville’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

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Flooded street with hotel in Melville Louisiana in 1927 (1927) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Palmetto📜 Morganza📜 Fordoche📜 Krotz Springs

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