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History · Meckling Township

Meckling Township’s post office opened in 1873, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings. Below: maps from 1968 on.

1873first post office
2on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Meckling Township began

When was Meckling Township founded?

1873

The Meckling Township post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 204153 years
Founding year: the first Meckling Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Meckling Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Meckling Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Meckling Township’s homes were built before 1945.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Meckling Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Meckling Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Meckling Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Meckling Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Meckling is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) in Clay County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 48 at the 2020 census. Meckling was laid out in 1873, and named in honor of Jones S. Meckling, a railroad employee. 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 the crop of choice. Each August Meckling and its neighboring town Gayville, the Hay Capital of the World host the Annual Hay Days. In 1965, the local school closed, and the residents were allowed to choose between the Gayville or Vermillion s…

Its first post office opened in 1873. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 234 to 204 (-13%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Meckling Township on the map, 1968 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Meckling Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Meckling Township on the 1968 USGS mapMeckling Township on the 1985 USGS mapMeckling Township on the 1994 USGS map1968Meckling sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Meckling Township.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Meckling Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Calle Nissen Johnsen Farm
William Andre HouseCalle Nissen Johnsen Farm
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
William Andre HouseItalianate
All 2 listings
Calle Nissen Johnsen FarmDistrict · listed 1999

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Meckling
Gone or out of use
Harmony Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Meckling Township
MecklingTaylor

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Norway Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBethel TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSpirit Mound Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGayville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPleasant Valley Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Meckling Township’s history

What year was Meckling Township founded?

The Meckling Township post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Meckling Township?

Two places: the William Andre House (listed 2002) and the Calle Nissen Johnsen Farm (1999).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.