Before Europeans settled in this area, there where many conflicts between the local Tswana people and the Ndebeles, who left their land under the leadership of Mzilikazi to flee from Shaka, the great Zulu leader. A wall, one km in length was built by Mzilikazi as an animal trap and can still be seen in the town. Ottosdal was proclaimed in 1917 and named after G P Otto, the owner of the farm Korannafontein. The town was established as a Dutch Reformed Church Parish. Today the town is the centre of a maize-and-sunflower farming district and is the only place in South Africa where “Wonderstone” or Pyrophillite is found and mined. Every year the town hosts a large agricultural show.
Archaeology And Palaeontology
San Rock Art: San rock art and Stone Age implements and structures can be viewed on the farms of Gestoptefontein, Driekuil, Witpoort and Korannafontein.
History And Architecture
Boschbult Battlefield: During the Anglo-Boer War, the Battle of Boschbult took place 30 km from town.
Dutch Reformed Church: Gerhard Moerdyk (a famous South African architect and sculptor) designed this Dutch Reformed Church.
Anglo-Boer War sites: Driekuil and Gestoptefontein Farms have sites including trenches, cemeteries and a British Fort dating back to the Anglo-Boer War of 1899 – 1902.
Garden of Remembrance: The Garden of Remembrance contains the graves of many of the British soldiers who died during the Anglo-Boer War.
“Ou Plaas” (The Old Farm) Guesthouse: This farm used to be a residential dwelling during the Anglo-Boer War. The “Africana” collection housed in the Old Farm Guest house is very interesting.
Old Water Mill: The Old Water Mill was built around 1860.
