Villiers is a small town situated on the banks of the

Vaal River The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. ...

next to the N3 highway in the Free State province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. It was founded in 1882 on the two farms ''Pearson Valley'' and ''Grootdraai'' owned by Lourens de ''Villiers''.

Location

The town is located in the north-eastern Free State, in the eastern half of South Africa. It actually lies at the border of the province of Mpumalanga, with the Vaal River forming the border. Nearby towns include (and their distance in km): *

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

(98 km) *

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

(60 km) * Frankfort (33 km) * Cornelia (30 km) *

Vrede Vrede is a town in the Free State province of South Africa that is the agricultural hub of a 100 km² region. Maize, wheat, mutton, wool, beef, dairy products and poultry are farmed in the region. History In 1863 one J. H. Krynauw bought ...

(61 km) Villiers is also located roughly 150 km from

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

(South Africa's ''de facto'' capital city), and approximately 70 km from the city of

Vereeniging Vereeniging () is a town located in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa, situated where the Klip River empties into the northern loop of the Vaal River. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was formerly s ...

History

The town of Villiers is named after Lourens de Villiers on whose farms the town was first built. The town was established at the Vaal River crossing on the very important transport route between

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

and

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

. De Villiers started with the subdivision of his farms into erven in 1882 and the town was proclaimed by State President F.W. Reitz on 29 May 1891. In these early days the Vaal River was the important boundary between the then

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

and the then

Transvaal Republic The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...

. Both Governments erected toll houses on the banks of the Vaal River at the Villiers wagon crossing points, at the site of the current steel bridge. These toll houses remained in force until the creation of the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...

on 31 May 1910. In the early days during typical Highveld thunderstorms and in the rainy season there were sometimes up to 300 wagons waiting to cross the Vaal river at the Villiers crossing. The postal service also used this route from

Harrismith Harrismith is a large town in the Free State province of South Africa. It was named for Sir Harry Smith, a 19th-century British governor and high commissioner of the Cape Colony. It is situated by the Wilge River, alongside the N3 highway, ab ...

, Dundas, to Villiers, Malanskraal,

and then to the goldfields of the

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand () (locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which ...

. The Van der Berg park was used by the postal service to get “fresh” horses for their wagons. This park was also later used as a marketplace. Villiers is steeped in history with buildings and structures dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. There are some prime restored examples of Eastern Free-state sandstone architecture and a beautiful church at the centre of town with high pitched slate roof.

Activities

Town activities include: *Eastern Free-state Sandston Architecture; *Village strolls through streets of Villiers; *Villiers Holiday Resort; *Walking routes through town and sites of interest; *Horse riding; *Quad bike route on neighbouring farms; *A school with personal attention and boarding facilities; *Guesthouse, coffee shops and pubs.

References

{{Fezile Dabi District Municipality Populated places in the Mafube Local Municipality Populated places founded by Afrikaners Populated places established in 1891 1891 establishments in South Africa