Smithfield

Smithfield Free State Siouth Africa

Smithfield is a small town in the Free State Province of South Africa. Smithfield is the third oldest village in Free State. Places to visit are the Caledon river museum, the Carmel and Beersheba missionary posts. Smithfield is a village that is experiencing something of a revival, with more and more houses being renovated and a renewed interest in the place seems to evolve.

Peaceful, splendidly vast, unpolluted countryside abounds around historic Smithfield, tucked neatly into a horseshoe of hills. Established in 1848 and named after Sir Harry Smith, then Governor of the Cape, Smithfield is the third oldest town in the Free State Province. Originally an important wool-growing area, in recent times its position astride major tourist routes, have lent impetus to its growing role in tourism.

The many hills surrounding Smithfield are ideal for hiking, walking horse-riding and birding in splendid isolation. You can ride for miles on local secondary roads ideal for mountain bikes. With no industry to pollute the environment and little distraction from town lights and the crystal clear night skies are stunningly beautiful. The Smithfield golf course dates back more than 100 years and is widely rated as an unusually attractive country course. Its facilities are open to our guests, as are local tennis and bowls clubs.

Kilometer upon kilometer of silvery savanna, a sprinkling of blesbok and the odd zebra. Prepare you for a change of pace as you fly off the main road to Colesberg and head towards the tiny town of Smithfield in the Free State. Smithfield lies 132-km southeast of Bloemfontein on the national road to Port Elizabeth. Smithfield has a small population of approximately 4,500. It is a prosperous wool-growing district with a large number of cattle as well.

Archaeologically, the name Smithfield is well known because one of the most important Stone Age cultures was named after the town. George Stow, a renowned scientist, excavated a cave near Smithfield in 1877. He found tools from the Late Stone Age and described them in his book, "Native races of South Africa."

There are wonderful Bushmen paintings in the hills near the town. "Ou Grietjie,"a cannon used by the Free State in the Basuto wars, has been mounted in front of the magistrates office. It was named after Margaret (Grietjie), wife of the gunner Robert Finlay.

Accommodation in and around Smithfield