Melbourne Village is a town in Brevard County, Florida. The population was 662 at the 2010 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the smallest incorporated municipality (by population) in Brevard County.
History
Virginia Wood, Elizabeth Nutting, and Margaret Hutchinson came from Dayton, Ohio, following the end of World War II to the area of Melbourne, Florida. Their goal was to establish a community for people seeking a lifestyle that was simple and close to nature. This social experiment was an “intentional community”, a response to the hardships of the Great Depression. The founders were influenced by the concepts and teachings of Ralph Borsodi, who also lived in Melbourne Village from 1950 to 1960. Many early residents cleared their land, built their own houses, and ran small home businesses, from organic gardening to raising chinchillas, in order to help support themselves and their families. There was a community store run on the honor system. Early families overcame the lack of construction materials for civilian use immediately following World War II by purchasing and relocating surplus military barracks from nearby bases. Two of these barracks still remain, one being the Original Melbourne Village Hall and the other a private residence.
The Town of Melbourne Village was incorporated in 1957 out of concern of being annexed by Melbourne or included in the subsequent incorporation of West Melbourne.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.0 km), primarily land, with several small ponds.
The village is surrounded by West Melbourne, except the northeastern portion of the town, where it is bordered by Melbourne.
Environment
Over 90% of lots are between and , with houses nestled in among the native oaks and pines. It is common in Melbourne Village for a lot to have at least 30% canopy coverage, from mature live oaks and southern pines.
Climate
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 706 people, 307 households, and 210 families residing in the town. The population density was . It has the smallest population of any municipality in the county.
There were 325 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 99.01% White, 0.71% Asian, and 0.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.27% of the population.
There were 307 households, out of which 21.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.73.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 17.8% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 26.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $48,750, and the median income for a family was $60,000. Males had a median income of $51,058 versus $27,375 for females. The per capita income for the town was $27,782. About 2.6% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.
Parks and recreation
Erna Nixon Park is a park opened in 1976. It is a habitat for native plants, birds, and animals, including gopher tortoises, indigo snakes, and bobcats.