History
Boshof
is
situated
on the
R64
provincial
road,
120 km
west
of
Bloemfontein
via
Dealesville
and 55
km
east
of
Kimberley.
Established
in
1856
by Dr
Andrew
Murray
on the
farm
Van
Wyksvlei
that
was
purchased
from a
Griqua,
Dawid
Danster
by a
farmer,
D S
Fourie
in
1839
and
sold
to the
DR
Church
in
1855.
President
J N
Boshoff
agreed
to act
as
godfather
for
the
town,
hence
the
name
BOSHOF.
Volkspele,
the
traditional
dance
of
Afrikaans
speaking
South
Africans,
originated
in
Boshof.
It was
the
realisation
of the
ambition
of Mr
S H
Pellissier,
at the
time
vice-principal
of
Rooidak
School.
On 28
February
1914
during
a
Sunday
school
picnic,
Volkspele
was
performed
for
the
first
time
on the
farm
Vuisfontein.
Various
Volkspele
memorials
still
exist
in the
area.
Boshof
is a
farming
community
and
the
main
activity
is
sheep,
cattle
and
game
farming.
If one
looks
at the
results
of the
National
Carcass
competition
over
the
past
few
years,
Boshof
district
produces
of the
finest
red
meat
in the
country.
Well-known
Bonsmara,
Brangus,
Boergoat
and
White
Dorper
stud-breeders
are
found
in
Boshof
district.
Apart
from
existing
gypsum
mines
in the
district,
diamond
mines
which
were
shut
down
for a
couple
of
years,
are
now
being
reopened.
Places
of
Interest
·
D
R
Church
building
built
in
1874,
enlarged
in
1915
and
renovated
in
1954.
A
memorial
for
the
Boers
who
were
killed
in the
Anglo
Boer
War
can
also
be
seen
on
site.
The
statues
of Dr
S H
Pellisier,
the
father
of volkspele
and
that
of
General
Gideon
F
Joubert
have
also
been
moved
to
this
site.
·
Chris
van
Niekerk
Museum
where
exhibits
from
Boshof's
past
can be
seen.
·
The
Museum
provided
for by
the
local
Conservation
Committee
where
items
and
records
of the
latest
history
of
Boshof
and
especially
of the
once
well-known
Rooidak
School,
can be
seen.
·
Boshof
Prison
built
in
1891
and
was
originally
designed
for
Kroonstad.
·
The
Gunpowder
house
– a
National
Monument,
near
the
cemetery.
·
Volkspele
memorial,
3 km
from
Boshof
on the
road
to
Christiana,
opposite
the
farm
Vuisfontein
where
volkspele
was
performed
for
the
first
time.
·
Memorial
of
Gen.
Comte
de
Villebois-Mareuil
(commander
of the
French
Legion)
on the
farm
Middelkuil,
10 km
east
of
Boshof
on the
Bosvark
road
(erected
under
a wild
olive
tree,
reputedly
the
place
where
he was
killed
while
fighting
for
the
Boers
on 5
April
1900
against
a
force
under
Lord
Methuen
during
the
Anglo-Boer
War).
·
Boshof
cemetery,
surrounded
by a
limestone
wall
where
the
graves
of
victims
of the
Anglo
Boer
War
can be
seen,
such
as the
grave
of
Asst.
Chief
Commandant
CCJ
Badenhorst,
commander
of the
NW OFS
Boer
troops;
the
French
soldier
General
Comte
de
Villebois-Mareuil;
Sergeant
Patrick
Campbell,
estranged
husband
of the
famous
actress
and
mistress
of
George
Bernard
Shaw;
as
well
as
quite
a
number
of
memorials
erected
for
English
soldiers
who
were
killed
during
the
said
war.
The
grave
of
Charles
Gerhardus
Marais,
elder
brother
of
Eugene
Marais
can
also
be
seen.
One of the houses which might be more that 150 years old. It is situated in Jacobs Street Boshof and was transferred to Johannes Jacobus Jacobs on 6 Maart 1857 by the interim Church Council of the community of Boshof, previously Van Wyks Vallei.