Melia developed around a Burlington Railroad station established just north of here in 1902 as a cattle shipping point on land owned by John J. Melia, for whom the station was named. In 1903 John J. Melia opened a grocery and general store and Tom Coleman built an elevator, and in 1904 Alan Woods built a hardware store while T.W. Langdon opened a hotel and bar. A blacksmith shop and livery stable were added later, and Melia had a post office from 1905 to 1910. When the Omaha, Lincoln, and Denver highway was designated about 1913, it passed through Melia and the village appeared likely to grow, but U.S. Highway 6, which succeeded that route, bypassed the community. The village later disappeared, though its name survives in Melia Hill.