Melbourne History
"They Came Down two Rivers to Settle
Campbell County"
by Margaret Streubel Hartman
Located along Kentucky 8 and the Ohio River, Melbourne is just south of Silver Grove. Along Melbourne's northern edge is St. Anne's Convent where some scenes were shot for the movie "Rain Man".
On May 9, 1774, Hancock Taylor (brother of James Taylor) surveyed 5000 acres of land for Hugh Mercer, who was Colonel of the 3d Battalion of the Pennsylvania Regiment in the war between Great Britain & France, also known as the French and Indian War, and claimed his land under the King's proclamation of 1763.
The survey was on the Ohio River extending down the same from the mouth of Wells Creek (known as Locust Creek, then Twelve Mile Creek) to near the mouth of Sellema Creek (Now Four Mile Creek). Hancock, Abraham Haptonstall and Hancock Lee, as locators of this acreage, were entitled to one fifth.
James Taylor acquired this 5000 acres from the Mercer Heirs. From section 8 of his will December 18, 1844, "I hereby direct that my Mercer tract, on the Ohio River, in Campbell County, and the land I own adjoining, patented to John Williams, together with the tract I own, between three and four mile, on the Ohio, patented to Edmund Taylor, and adjoining Israel Ware, be divided into four parts; son James Taylor one-fourth, daughters Ann W. Tibbitts, Keturah Harris and Jane Williamson each one-fourth."
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POST OFFICES
The 1883 Lake Atlas shows Hayfield Precinct along the Ohio River from four mile creek to 12 mile creek and is the 12th Post Office in Campbell County.
#12-HAYFIELD 29 Dec 1845-John Maines Postmaster
10 Dec 1846 John Applegate; Discontinued 24 May 1847.
#18-INDIAN SPRING 8 Oct 1858-Theodell Stillwell Postmaster;
22 Aug 1861, Lemuel T
Pyle Postmaster;
Discontinued 8 Jan 1865;
Re-est. 7 June 1865, Peter Rukel
Postmaster;
26 July 1866, David J Armstrong Postmaster;
7 Nov 1879, Peter Buckeit Postmaster; Discontinued 22 Nov 1880.
# 27-ROSS-20 Dec 1880, Henry H Berry Postmaster;
11 Aug 1885,William R Miller
Postmaster;
20 Mar 1914, Patrick O'Bryan Postmaster;
Disc. 15 Jan 1918 (Mail to
Melbourne);
# 35-MELBOURNE-18 June 1891, Robert A Carnes Postmaster;
16 Dec 1893, James A
Hannah Postmaster
# 39-SILVER GROVE 7/17/1913, Frank E Neltner Postmaster;
7 Oct 1913, Jacob F Neltner Postmaster
Melbourne was established by Frank and Hubbard Helm in 1890. The brothers were from Australia and named the area after the city of the same name in their native country. The Helms ran excursion boats to Cincinnati and operated the Melbourne Carriage Factory.
John D Ellis, a civil engineer, laid out lots for a town and a post office was established in 1891. In 1912 residents petitioned for incorporation, which was granted that March 7. The same year city gas lights were installed and a boardwalk was built along Melbourne Avenue from the Ohio River to Kentucky 8. Appointed as town officials were Frank Springer, Dr. Jules Pinguely, Clarence Pinguely, John Greis and William Haigis. They elected Springer as board chairman and Joseph Good was made marshal and town assessor.
The boom faded in 1913 after a flood devastated the city, tearing up the boardwalk and damaging the carriage factory. Some residents filed suit to disband the city government. The incorporation was upheld but during the next few decades the city fell on hard times and the government was basically inoperative.
Things began to improve in 1952 with the dedication of a new firehouse and in the 1960s a more stable city government in a clean-up, fix-up campaign. In 1990 Melbourne had 620 people.