Archistori

Full name: Ernest H.A. Cohen, EHA Cohen Lifespan: ? London - 1935 Occupation:  Mining engineer, adventurer Biography He was nicknamed "Alphabetical" Cohen due to his initials and extensive list of professional qualifications (such as M.I.M.E. and many others). This was a point of pride, as he reportedly instructed people to address mail to him simply as "Alphabetical Cohen, Rand Club." As a youth, he sailed around Cape Horn in 1876 to California, where he had an uncle. Expecting a bank job, he instead became the world's youngest bank manager at age 17 in a Wild West mining camp (amid the atmosphere Mark Twain captured in Roughing It - Twain was a personal friend). Popular with miners despite (or because of) his English accent, he was dubbed "the young sprig of British nobility." He then traveled through U.S. gold diggings, especially Nevada's Virginia City in its heyday, witnessing shootings, feuds, Indian raids, and the fading Pony Express era. H...

Aka:  House Calderbank Built: 1942 Architect: Unidentified (Hugh Roberts?) Status: Extant Location:  1 Calderbank Avenue, Potchefstroom Source: Die Wapad (1965) Timeline Notes The house was originally built for Mr Hugh Calderbank in 1942. Hugh William Hersey Calderbank (1908 England - 1972) was a businessman, city councillor and served on public boards. He emigrated to South Africa in 1930. He was mayor of Potchefstroom in 1940-1 and 1946-7. He owned Calderbank's Garage at 104 King Edward (now Walter Sisulu) St. In 1961 Prof Wikus du Plessis suggested that the house be bought by PU to be used as rector's house and / or guesthouse / accommodation for senior students. " Die tyd om te koop is nou, aangesien ek spoedig belangrike prysstyginge verwag o.a. vanweë die vinding van goud dig ten Noorde van Potchefstroom, asook ‘n waarskynlike verbetering in politieke toestande en ‘n moontlike devaluasie altans van die pond sterling. ” (Du Plessis, 1961) Lodewicus Johannes d...

Full name:   Friederich Ludwig Emil Kumst Lifespan: 1860 Germany - 1931 Johannesburg Occupation: Businessman, prospector Spouse:  Emilie Fiebiger (1866 Austria - 1946 Johannesburg) - married in East London Kumst prospected in the Krugersdorp area during the 1910s-1920s. He was managing director of Kumst Diamond Company. "...Mr. Emil Kumst, who came in at frequent intervals with imports of new strikes round Krugersdorp. Kumst was a German and varied his prospecting with hunts for treasure. He saw possibilities in medicine and started producing a series of curative oils which he sold all over the country and which brought him prosperity. His end was dramatic. He was shot by a woman friend of his and the resulting case was sensational even by the standards of the Rand." (Rosenthal) "An unusual prosecution has taken place in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court. when Emil Kumst and Henry Lowe, described as proprietor and manager respectively of the Southern Cross Oil Co...

Date: 1902 - c.1905 This downturn roughly spanned from 1902–1905 (with effects lingering longer in some sectors). The war had artificially inflated the economy through massive military spending, imports, construction, and employment tied to the British war effort - creating a boom in trade, property values, and commerce. When peace arrived, the sudden withdrawal of that artificial stimulus led to a sharp collapse. A drought occurred in 1902-1903. It was particularly acute in the former Boer republics (the Transvaal and Orange River Colony/Orange Free State), where Kitchener's scorched-earth tactics had already devastated farmland and livestock. Black communities and Boer farmers alike suffered heavily - crops (maize, wheat, etc.) failed, livestock struggled, and reliance on relief depots or urban migration increased. " Ten million pounds worth of surplus military stores was thrown upon the South African market by the British Army. Import had already far exceeded the normal l...

Business:  Early 1900s Petroleum company " Horatio Bottomley did not take too seriously the set-back be had met with on the South African market (tin mining in Kuils River) . His interests were widespread and varied. Indeed, before very many months were up, he was back again promoting a fresh company at the Cape, this time in another picturesque district of the Colony. “Ceres Oils” was the promising title. Until then nobody had heard about oil there, nor, indeed, anywhere else in South Africa, but somebody brought to Horatio’s notice the fact that near the little fruit-growing town of Ceres there was a seepage of a substance looking rather like petroleum. That was enough: Ceres Oils were launched with a flourish of trumpets. This time, however, the sceptics were on the lookout and the trumpets sounded only to die. " (Rosenthal) Horatio William Bottomley (1860-1933) was one of the most notorious British figures of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras - a charismatic but deepl...

Built: 1813 Front facade. Photo c.1910. Cape Archives E2438. Back of house. Photo c.1880. Notes The farm was originally granted in 1709 to a free Black settler named Evert van Guinea, but it passed through various owners before Isaak Bosman acquired it. The house was built by Jacobus Bosman, son of Isaak Bosman. The stepped gables were removed and the thatched roof replaced with corrugated iron. Evert van Guinea (c.1639 Guinea - 1688 Cape). His de facto wife was Hoena (Anna) van Guinea. They had a daughter Zwarte Maria Evert (1663 - 1713) who became a wealthy landowner. Evert was one of the earliest free Black settlers (vrijswart or manumitted slave) at the Cape of Good Hope - freed in 1659. He was a farmer and market gardener. Isaak (Izak) Bosman (1732 - 1812) married Susanna de Villiers (1736 - 1818) in 1756. She was from the prominent de Villiers Huguenot line (daughter of Abraham de Villiers and Susanna Gardiol. Isaak was the progenitor (stamvader) of the Bosman family branch ...

Aka: Houd den Mond / Houd den Bek (pre-1851) Built: 1803 Source: Bellevue Notes In 1701 the farm was granted to Christoffel Groenewald. Its T-shaped house was built in 1803. The original cellar was built by Jan Mechau in 1820. Dirk Cloete Morkel purchased the farm in 1861 - primarily for livestock farming. Under his ownership, the farm expanded significantly - to around 1,500 morgen (a large area by 19th-century standards), incorporating vineyards, grazing land, and mixed agriculture. Bellevue remained in the Morkel family for 150 years until it was purchased by Marinus Neethling. Christoffel Groenewald (also spelled Christoph Grünewaldt) (? - c.1721), was a Prussian-born blacksmith who settled at the Cape. He arrived at the Cape around the late 1690s or early 1700s as a VOC (Dutch East India Company) employee or free settler. Johannes (Jan) Julius Mechau / Michau (1764 Germany - 1835). He arrived at the Cape as a soldier/servant for the Dutch East India Company (VOC), chambe...

Aka: Die Erf, Zevenwacht, Langverwacht Built: 1800 Status: razed by fire in early-1900s. Source: Cape Archives E2436 Notes Zevenfontein, or 'Die Erf' as it was also called, belonged to Pieter de Waal. His parents, Arend and Maria Margaretha de Waal, lived here until 1866. The De Waal family intermarried with Bosmans. Pieter de Waal (1798 Kuils River - 1870 Kuils River). Pieter de Waal and his wife Susanna Gertruida Louw had a large family, including notable descendants like politician David Christiaan de Waal. Arend (Jacobus) de Waal (c.1775 Kuils River - 1861 Kuils River) Maria Margaretha Bosman (1778 Stellenbosch - 1866 Kuils River) The dwelling house on the farm Langverwacht burned down at the beginning of the twentieth century. Langverwacht was originally granted in 1688 to French Huguenot Jean le Roux. From the late 1700s/early 1800s, ownership shifted multiple times. Pieter de Waal acquired both farms in the 19th century (he bought Langverwacht around 1829 and later Z...

Aka: Rozendal (formerly) Built: 1806 Source: Mooiplaas Wine Estate Notes The farm was granted in 1712. Willem van As built the manor house. (under correction) Formerly owned by Casparus Johannes Bosman (1813 Stellenbosch - 1894  Redelinghuys ). It was one of the farms where tin was discovered in 1903. Casparus Bosman, married to Hessie, was the father of Jacobus Petrus (Koos) Bosman who fought in the Second Boer War. Koos was sentenced to death for his war activities, but was then released after a brief prison sentence. Source: Mooiplaas Wine Estate Locality Sources Die Geskiedenis van Kuilsrivier. 1993. Vermaak, A.L. (Thesis) Jacques Derrick Stephens on FB

Built: 1880 Source: Netwerk24 Location Notes The farmhouse was built in 1880. In 1928 the Bestbier family purchased the wine estate. The farm appears to have been  sold by public auction  on 8 July, 2025. Property description: Remainder of Portion 2 (a Portion of Portion 1) of the Farm Goede Hoop, No. 220 in the Stellenbosch Municipality, Stellenbosch Division, Western Cape Province. 155ha of which 58ha is vineyard. The improvements on the farm consist of a main dwelling, an office, a cellar with tasting room, a church, garages and twelve worker's houses. Source: Goede Hoop Wine Estate on FB

Aka: Dutch Reformed Church South, NG Kerk Kuilsrivier-Suid, Suidkerk Built: 1964 : 1983 Architect: Unidentified Location Photos Old church. Source: Suidkerk New church. Source: Suidkerk Source: NG Kerk Kuilsrivier-Suid on YouTube

Aka: Dutch Reformed Church Built: 1904 Architect: Folkert Wilko Hesse Location Notes The discovery in 1903 of tin deposits on Langverwacht and in the Bottelaryberg did not bring the expected progress. By 1905, Kuils River still consisted of the Main Road with two hotels, the school, the NG church building, and a few business enterprises and smallholdings on either side of the main street. Photos Source: NG Kerk Kuilsrivier Moedergemeente on FB Source: NG Kerk Kuilsrivier Moedergemeente on FB Interior. Source: NG Kerk Kuilsrivier Moedergemeente on FB First parsonage built 1904, also designed by Hesse. Demolished in c.1980. Unideitified photographer.

Aka: Rhenish Mission School Built: 1843 : 1891 : ? * Not to be confused with Kuils River Primary School * Also see Rhenish Mission Church Location Notes Established in 1843 by the German Rhenish Missionary Society specifically for the non-white/formerly enslaved population (emancipated in 1838) living in the sandy dunes around Kuils River, it was the first school in the Kuils River area and the first multiracial school in the region. It provided basic education and Christian instruction to the mission congregation (former slaves and their descendants). It grew steadily (e.g., 78 pupils by 1872 under teacher Hendrik January). In 1843, the Superintendent-General of Education, James Rose Innes, introduced two types of schools in the Cape Colony: first-class schools ("principal schools") and second-class schools ("secondary schools"). In addition, the so-called supported schools were also established. The latter schools, which later became known among the Boer p...

Architect: unidentified Date: unknown Style: Cape Dutch Revival Location Photos Source: Kuilsriver Online

Aka:  Pampoenkraal, D'Urban (early names) Established: Location: Notes (In progress) Sources Die Geskiedenis van Kuilsrivier. 1993. Vermaak, A.L. (Thesis)

Built: c.1750 Status: Demolished in c.1945 Photographer: Arthur Elliot, 1913. T-shaped plan. Sketch by Willem Malherbe. Source: Vassa History Saxenburg (also spelled Saxenborg in older records) is one of South Africa's oldest wine estates, located in the Polkadraai Hills area near Stellenbosch (close to Kuils River in the Western Cape). Its history spans over three centuries. In 1693 it was officially proclaimed as a farm when Governor Simon van der Stel granted the land to Joachim Sax, a Swedish free burgher (settler). This makes it one of the earliest privately owned farms in the Cape Colony after the VOC began releasing land to free burghers to boost agriculture and supply ships. In 1705 ownership passed to Oloff and Albertus Bergh (also Swedish-origin settlers), and the name "Saxenburg" emerged from these early owners and the Sax family connection. The first vines were planted around 1707, establishing it as a wine-producing farm. During the 1700s - 1980s the farm c...

Aka:  Kuilsrivier Laer Kleurling Skool, Die Blik Skooltjie, Die Hoogte Date:  1892 : 1908 : 1944 : 1949 Status: Demolished in 1970 * Not to be confused with Sarepta Primary School (Unidentified photographer) Notes According to the records in the Deeds office, JJ Hamman transferred two morgen, Erf 247, formerly Lot A as part of Lot G to the Trustee for Cape Colony of the Rhenish Mission Society of Barmen, Germany. His intention was for a school to be established which would be in closer proximity to the areas of Brackenfell and Bottelary from where children had to walk long distances to be educated at the already established schools at the time. Jacob Jacobus Hamman (c.1843 Kuils River - 1924 Brackenfell) The first school was called Die Blik Skooltjie because it was made of tin and wood. " Na 'n paar onsuksesvolle pogings in die sestigerjare van die negentiende eeu is in Augustus 1874 met 'n skool vir blanke leerlinge begin. Die koms van Charles Mathurin Villet in 1881 he...

Aka: Jan Krielskool Aerial view. Source: Jan Kriel Instituut Locality Notes Jan Kriel Skool (Jan Kriel School) in Kuils River is a special needs institution originally focused on children with epilepsy ("vallende siekte"). Rev. and Mrs. Kriel served as the pastoral couple of the Dutch Reformed (NG) Moedergemeente Kuilsriver from 1924 to 1937. Their beloved son Jan suffered from epilepsy, for which no effective treatment existed in South Africa at the time - Jan passed away in 1925. Their pioneering work led them to apply to the local NG Church to purchase the old parsonage (pastorie) and convert it into a home for people with epilepsy. Initially, the plan was not for a school but a residential "tehuis" (home/care facility). However, to secure state support, it had to be registered as a special school. The Union Education Department granted recognition on 1 April 1937, and Lady Duncan (wife of the Governor-General) officially opened it on 4 May 1937. Rapid gro...

Aka: Sky-Vue, Skyvue Ster Drive-In Designed by: Harris Engineering Works Built: 1956 Demolished: 1998 Locality: Van Riebeeck Road, Kuils River Notes The Skyvue Ster Drive-In (originally Skyvue) was Kuils River's iconic outdoor cinema, opening in 1956 as Cape Town's first drive-in theater and only the third in South Africa. Extensive research went into selecting the site on Van Riebeeck Road (on the former farm Monta Cristo, owned by Christiaan Nagel), with a key criterion being minimal misty weather to ensure clear projection onto the screen. The old farmhouse served as the projector room, supplemented by a roadhouse-style shop for refreshments. At launch, it accommodated 768 cars. Renamed Skyvue Ster Drive-In later (likely after affiliation with Ster-Kinekor), it thrived for decades as a nostalgic venue before closing in 1998 amid shifting entertainment trends and the rise of indoor cinemas. The site was later developed into Palma Villas and St Duma housing complexes. ...