Meckling, South Dakota

Meckling, South Dakota
Unincorporated community
Meckling Meckling
Coordinates: 42°51′42″N 97°5′47″W / 42.86167°N 97.09639°WCoordinates: 42°51′42″N 97°5′47″W / 42.86167°N 97.09639°W
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
County	Clay
Founded	1873[1]
Area
• Total	36.1 sq mi (93.5 km^2)
• Land	36.1 sq mi (93.5 km^2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km^2)
Elevation	1,152 ft (351 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	223
• Density	6.2/sq mi (2.4/km^2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	57044
Area code(s)	605
FIPS code	46-41740[2]
GNIS feature ID	1269089[3]

Meckling is an unincorporated community in Clay County, South Dakota. Although not tracked by the Census Bureau, Meckling has been assigned the ZIP code of 57044.

Meckling was laid out in 1873, and named in honor of Jones S. Meckling, a railroad employee.^[4]

Due to the large number of farms that grow the crop alfalfa it has become known as the "Hay Capital of the Universe". In this fertile Missouri River valley of southeastern South Dakota, alfalfa hay is certainly the crop of choice. Each August Meckling and its neighboring town Gayville, the Hay Capital of the World host the Annual Hay Days.

In 1972, the local school closed, and the residents were allowed to choose between the Gayville or Vermillion school districts. A couple of families, displeased with those choices, campaigned for an additional selection to be added: Wakonda.

References

1. "SD Towns" (PDF). South Dakota State Historical Society. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
2. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
3. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
4. Federal Writers' Project (1940). South Dakota place-names, v.1-3. University of South Dakota. p. 50.