Frankfort is a small farming

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

situated on the banks of the Wilge River 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. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The town was laid out in 1869 on the farm ''Roodepoort'', and named Frankfurt (after

Frankfurt-am-Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) by Albert van Gordon. The town later received municipality status in 1896. Frankfort is now the capital town to Villiers, Cornelia and Tweeling, called the Mafube Municipality. The main street is 'Brand Street', named after the 4th president of the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

, Sir

Johannes Brand Sir Johannes Henricus Brand, (popularly known as Sir Jan Brand and sometimes as Sir John Henry Brand or Jan Henrick Brand; 6 December 1823 – 14 July 1888) was a lawyer and politician who served as the fourth President (government title), ...

. (The name has since changed to J.J Hadebe.) Sir Johannes Brand visited the town during 1883 and laid the cornerstone of the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

. This church was burnt down by the British troops during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

(1899–1902). After the war the church was rebuilt and inaugurated in 1918. The Second Boer War was disastrous for the town; according to one contemporary source there were ′not a house or tree′ remaining after the destruction.

Namahadi township

Namahadi is a township named after the river that runs next to the town by

Basotho The Sotho (), also known as the Basotho (), are a Sotho-Tswana ethnic group indigenous to Southern Africa. They primarily inhabit the regions of Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. The ancestors of the Sotho people are believed to h ...

,also known as Wilge River by Afrikaans speaking people because of the massive

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

trees on the banks of the river.

Sports history

This town has produced notable soccer players like Paul Motaung (former Kaizer Chiefs defender) and Chris Motaung (former Swallows midfielder), Thabo Motsoeneng (former Bloemfontein Celtics player) other professional football players including Thomas Mofokeng, Ernest Nkosi and Dlangamandla. Frederich Lombaard, a former Cheetah and Springbok rugby player, and academics like Professor M.J. Lenake and Dr Mahlathini Tshabalala, who is now based in Gauteng and the renowned Motloung brothers Paul and Michael who are based in

Botshabelo Botshabelo, meaning "a place of refuge", is a large Township (South Africa), township set up in 1979. It is located east of Bloemfontein in the present-day Free State (South African province), Free State province of South Africa. Botshabelo is no ...

and

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

respectively. Mamontha Modise and Sophie Mokoena are former

Lesedi FM Lesedi FM is a South African PBS radio network owned the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). Coverage areas and frequencies The station was launched in 1960 and is currently available in seven provinces with a spill-over to the o ...

anchors. The first black

Comrades Marathon The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately which is run annually in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon race. The dire ...

winner, Mr Tshabalala, also comes from this town. Lungisani Ndlela also hails from this town, he is a former South African Football Association striker for Premier Soccer League club Moroka Swallow and the South African national soccer team. The famed professional hunter, Harry Selby, was born here, although he was mainly based elsewhere for the rest of his life.

Power generation

Various solar power facilities around the town are owned by farmers, businesses and town residents. Their combined power production is distributed by Rural Maintenance, a utility which concluded a 25 year contract for power distribution on behalf of the Mafube Municipality. Rural's competitive advantage during daylight hours has led to legal wrangles with

Eskom Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. Eskom was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) (). Eskom represents South Africa in the Southern African Power Pool. The utility is the larg ...

Notes

{{Fezile Dabi District Municipality Populated places in the Mafube Local Municipality Populated places founded by Afrikaners Populated places established in 1878 1878 establishments in the Orange Free State