Skip to main content

Written by Andrew Knapp on . Posted in Facebook.

The history of Ficksburg, Free State

Reading about the town – it goes straight to the bucket list. A place to visit! So much history.

Ficksburg was founded on 12 June 1867 and named after General Jan Fick, Commander-General of the old Orange Free State Republic. General Fick’s mission was to protect the border between the then Basotholand and the Orange Free State. The government encouraged settlers by offering them land, horses, guns and ammunition in return for settling along the border of the new territory. This discouraged the Basotho from crossing the border, burning farms and stealing cattle.

Settlers to the area were offered land, horses and guns by the government in return for settling along the border of the new territory. This helped discourage the burning of farms and cattle rustling which was prevalent.

The first European settler was the Wesleyan missionary, the Rev James Allison and his wife Dorothy who undertook many good works amongst the Basotho people.

Ficksburg Jail: A national monument containing the cell of CR Swart (Blackie Swart), the first president of the Republic of South Africa, who was imprisoned in 1914 and released the day before his scheduled execution. When CR Swart, who later became the first State President of the Republic of South Africa, was 19 years old he sided with the rebels against the Smuts Government which had joined with the British in World War 1.

Ficksburg’s Old Cemetery: The cemetery holds two notorious graves. The first is that of GB Mousley. Mousley was a well known “smous” (trader) in the area who was accused by the Boers of spying for the British after the Boers were surprised at the farm Kirklington by the British regiment, the Black Watch. They ordered him to appear at the Boer headquarters in Senekal for trial. The Van Niekerk brothers, who were in charge of Mousley’s escort to Senekal, maintained that Mousley tried to escape en-route to Senekal and during the alleged escape, Mousley was shot in the back of the head and died instantly. Mousley had maintained his innocence throughout the period he was in captivity. Mousley’s Memorial can be seen in the cemetery.

The second grave is that of Arthur Pond, whose history remains a grey area in the history of Ficksburg. What is noticeable about his grave is that this tombstone faces the wrong way. Apparently Pond was accused of being a rebel before WW1. Fifteen years later he was found to be innocent, but his grave remains unchanged.

The graves of Gen. Fick and his wife can be found at the foot of the memorial in front of the town hall.

The Nkokomohi Heritage Site (Sangoma Caves) Led by a call from their ancestors, traditional healers come here to learn the accumulated knowledge of the Sangomas.

Today Ficksburg is known as both 'The Cherry Capital' and 'The Gateway to Lesotho. The annual Cherry Festival is the longest running festival in South Africa and is held in November each year.

Sources:

  • Hits: 5