1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Meppel

MEPPEL, a town in the province of Drente, Holland, 161/2 m. by rail N. by E. of Zwolle. Pop. (1903), 10,470. It is favourably situated at the confluence of a number of canals and rivers which communicate hence with the Zuider Zee by the Meppeler Diep, and rose rapidly into prominence in the 19th century. The chief business is in butter, eggs, cattle and pigs, while bleaching, dyeing and shipbuilding are also carried on here.