Wecota, South Dakota
Wecota is an unincorporated community in Faulk County, South Dakota, United States.
Wecota was founded in 1907 as a station stop on a branch line of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway built that year between Conde and LeBeau, South Dakota. Railway service to Wecota ended in 1940.
Geography
Wecota is located at Latitude: 45.1725 and Longitude: -99.11722. Elevation: 1558 ft.
Wecota has been assigned the ZIP code 57438 and the FIPS place code 46-69900.[1] The local area code is 605.
The town has two streets, Main Street and Third Avenue. The town was platted with 5 streets and 5 avenues but only Main Street and Third avenue developed.
The post office opened April 10, 1907. Wecota is 9 miles north of Faulkton, the county seat.
The name is thought to come from a Native American dialect and mean friend. It is a unique place name.
The current population is twelve.
Wecota in 1909
From the 1909 Faulk County History by C. H. Ellis:
Wecota is a new town on the extension of the Minneapolis & St. Louis railway, about 300 miles west of Minneapolis and 65 miles east of the Missouri.
It is located in the heart of the "New Empire," in a well settled farming and stock raising country. The farmers here are all well to do and independent, have fine homes, good outbuildings and good bank accounts.
The crops are always good here and this section has not had a crop failure in 12 years. Wecota has three large elevators, a state bank, grocery stores, general stores, drug store, hardware store, lumber yard, livery barn, implement and harness dealers, etc. A section house and stock yard are also located here.
The business men who have located here are of the broad minded, enterprising sort such as are to be found in the west, and they are enjoying a good trade and are glad they are here. Although not more than a year old, Wecota has a start in life that would take several years to accomplish in the states east of here and its citizens are of the kind that would make a town thrive and grow in a country that was not endowed by nature with an ideal climate and soil such as is found in this vicinity of the "New Empire." The town has no dead ones or croakers who are ever ready to belittle the efforts of its enterprising citizens in making Wecota grow. It is bound to advance steadily. They have the soil, the climate and the push and energy to back it up and they invite the business men, the farmers, laborers and mechanics who are struggling along in the stunted and over crowded communities east of us, to come here, acquire the western spirit and grow up with us.
Wecota is ten miles (sic) directly north of the county seat, with a beautiful stretch of farming land fast being put under cultivation, with the following well established places of business, viz:
- Wecota State Bank, E. J. Levong (sic) (Levang), cashier.
- Archer's Merchandise Store, conducted by Frank Archer and his experienced wife.
- Hardware store, G. P. Kakkan (sic) (Bakken), proprietor.
- Grocery store and post office, James McIntyre, postmaster.
- Wecota Independent, R. S. Holder, editor and proprietor.
- Drug store and pool hall, J. W. Balsom, proprietor.
- Livery stable and agricultural machinery, Lars Jacobson, proprietor.
- Wecota Hotel, E. A. Magnuson, proprietor.
- Independent Elevator Co., James McIntyre, manager.
- Pacific Elevator Co., Peter Christensen, manager.
References
- ↑ "Wecota (populated place)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
- ↑ Ellis, Caleb Holt, 1825- (1973) [1909]. History of Faulk County, South Dakota : together with biographical sketches of pioneers and prominent citizens (Reprint ed.). Aberdeen, South Dakota: North Plains Press. p. 166.
External links
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates: 45°10′21″N 99°07′03″W / 45.17250°N 99.11750°W