Melville is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) in the

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Middletown and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in Newport County,

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

, United States. It lies along the shore of

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sm ...

. The population of the CDP was 1,320 at the 2010 census. The CDP is named after Admiral George Wallace Melville. Past names for the area include Portsmouth Cove and Bradford.

Military history

Melville was the site of the

Lovell General Hospital The Lovell General Hospital South is a former hospital at Fort Devens. It was named after the first Surgeon General of the United States Army, Joseph Lovell. See also * List of military installations in Massachusetts This is a list of current an ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. In the late 1800s Melville became the site of a U.S. Navy coaling station which was later converted for use as a fuel oil depot. During World War II, Melville was the site of a

PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the war ...

officer training center, the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center. It was closed after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

ended. Among the officers trained there was future President of the United States

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

. After the Navy's withdrawal from Melville in 1973, the site was redeveloped into a boat yard. The Navy, as of 2020, uses land in Melville for housing and recreation areas.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the CDP has a total area of 13.1 km² (5.1 mi²). 5.6 km² (2.2 mi²) of it is land and 7.5 km² (2.9 mi²) of it (57.23%) is water.

Places of interest

Some locations within Melville CDP include: * Dyer Island (uninhabited) * Melville Marina District, also known as Bend Boat Basin, at Coggeshall Point. * Melville Park, Melville Ponds Campground, and Portsmouth Dog Park, located near a string of ponds * N&NB Railroad Melville Station (Portsmouth Junction Station), also serving as the headquarters of the RI branch of Rail Explorers. * Parts of the

Naval Station Newport The Naval Station Newport (NAVSTA Newport) is a United States Navy base located in the city of Newport and the town of Middletown, Rhode Island. Naval Station Newport is home to the Naval War College and the Naval Justice School. It once was th ...

area, including the

Naval Undersea Warfare Center The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) is the United States Navy's full-spectrum research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support center for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, and offensive and defensive weapons ...

, are located within the southern part of the CDP boundaries.Map of Newport County, Rhode Island
(including CDP boundaries), census.gov. Retrieved November 20, 2021.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 2,325 people, 764 households, and 637 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 415.6/km² (1,076.7/mi²). There were 1,012 housing units at an average density of 180.9/km² (468.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 78.97%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 9.46%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.47% Native American, 4.65%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.13%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 2.92% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 3.40% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 8.39% of the population. There were 764 households, out of which 61.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.7% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.6% were non-families. 14.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02 and the average family size was 3.36. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 37.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 45.9% from 25 to 44, 5.4% from 45 to 64, and 1.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 101.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.4 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $37,314, and the median income for a family was $40,134. Males had a median income of $42,500 versus $20,813 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $14,789. About 7.7% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 9.5% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

References

{{Authority control Census-designated places in Newport County, Rhode Island Census-designated places in Rhode Island