Hopetown

Founded on the farm Duvenaarsfontein on the banks of the Orange River, Hopetown is the historical site of the discovery of the first Vaal diamond, in 1866. Officially the town was named for Major William Hope, auditor general of the Cape Colony, but there is a more romantic explanation for the name.

The widow of a small farm owner wore a silver anchor pendant and, when asked by a curious servant what it stood for, she replied that it meant hope. The servant was so impressed that she fashioned a crude replica out of tin and nailed it to the entrance of the farm on which Hopetown was later founded.

The diamond rush is long gone and today the town subsists on stock farming, wheat farming, and the cultivation of other crops grown under irrigation from the Orange River. There are also several salt pans in the area.

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