page_title: Melbourne, Iowa
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Melbourne, Iowa / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Post office located in Melbourne, Iowa
context_page_description: Melbourne is a city in Marshall County, Iowa, United States. The population was 830 at the 2010 census. It should not be confused with Melbourne, Victoria in Australia.
context_section_description: The town of Melbourne was platted February 23, 1882, by Milwaukee Land Company, in section 6 of Logan Township and was incorporated December 30, 1895. Melbourne was the only town in Marshall County to be served continuously by two major railroads. Melbourne's growth was rapid and made possible by three railroads and the population increased to 423 by 1910. Melbourne suffered the worst disaster in the town's history when a fire consumed the whole business district in 1903; then in 1981 the southern end of town was destroyed by a tornado.
  The mayor of Melbourne from 1984 until 1998 was Bill Crews, an openly gay man who came out of the closet in 1993. At the time, Melbourne was believed to be the smallest municipality in the United States to have an openly gay mayor.
caption: Melbourne Post Office
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