Melville Louisiana Map

About Melville, Louisiana

Melville is a locality in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a small community with a population of 759. The population density is 233.3 people per km². Melville is located at 30.6930°N, 91.7440°W. It observes the Central Time (America/Chicago) timezone. Melville is an incorporated locality. ZIP code: 71353.

Melville emerges from the flat alluvial expanse of the interior plains, defined by the heavy, moisture-laden air that clings to the soil long after the sun begins its descent. It lies 22.9 miles east-northeast of Opelousas, LA (from Opelousas, LA: bearing 61°T), and is situated 18.3 miles west of New Roads. The land here remains shaped by the Melville Crevasse, a geological scar that tells of the restless earth, while the Atchafalaya River flows only a mile away, its dark, silt-heavy currents dictating the slow tempo of the surrounding basin. During the humid afternoons, the light takes on a bruised, golden quality, filtering through the dense canopy of hardwoods and tangled vines that thicken as one moves toward the Sherburne Wildlife Management Area/atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge/bayou Des Ourses Area (usacoe) ten miles to the west. This is a quiet, inland geography where the horizon is dominated by the persistent, unblinking presence of the river and the silent, deep-rooted endurance of the timber.

History in Melville is anchored in the arrival of the rail lines and the subsequent movement of freight that once turned these quiet tracks into a bustling engine of the regional economy. Agriculture remains the quiet pulse of the locality, with fields of sugarcane and rice stretching toward the distance, marking the seasonal shifts in color from vibrant spring green to the tawny gold of harvest. While the bustle of the rail era has receded into a more measured pace, the legacy of the river trade and the resilient, layered cultures of the basin continue to influence the daily rhythm of life. Those seeking a broader reach into the wilder corners of the landscape often travel the thirteen miles toward Monday Lake, where the water reflects the stillness of a region that prefers to keep its own counsel, far removed from the frantic pace of the outside world.

About This Melville Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Melville, Louisiana. Coordinates: 30.692965, -91.744004. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.

Detailed location data for Melville includes the ZIP code (71353), telephone area code (318), county seat of St. Landry Parish, and school district assignment (St. Landry Parish School District).

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.