HISTORY

Modderfontein was the first farm granted in the Olifants River Valley by Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1725 as a ‘veeplaas’, to supply Cape Town and the visiting ships with fresh meat, and so the first structures on the farm were built – the kraals to keep the animals safe from predators – still standing today in their original state, almost 300 years later. The first farm cottage was added during this time, followed by the gabled Cape Dutch-style Old Manor House in 1757.

 

When Grey’s Pass (now replaced by the Piekeniers Pass) was opened by Thomas Bain in 1858 after 200 years of using the breakneck pass, here became the entrance and the crossroads to the valley, which now allowed for the easy passage of carriages and ox wagons, as trade and communications extended from the coastal Cape of Good Hope to the interior.

 

This small but growing trading centre soon required a post office and a home for the postmaster. This was the first building after the pass was opened.

 

Thereafter a trading store was added, followed by a smithy and wheelwright for the growing wagon traffic that ensued with the opening of The Pass. Travellers required accommodation and medical care, so lodgings and doctor’s rooms were added.

 

Eventually the community grew to the point that a policeman and a jail became necessary to control the behavior of the ever-more-colourful community.

 

It is these authentic 18th & 19th Century buildings set against the rugged rock formations and pristine fynbos on a working organic citrus and rooibos farm, which have been carefully restored to their original state, to recreate The Old Village restaurant, pub and private self-catering cottages.