Jagersfontein

Jagersfontein is a small town in the Free State province of South Africa. The original farm on which the town stands was once the property of a Griqua Jacobus Jagers, hence the name Jagersfontein. He sold the farm to CF Visser in 1854. A diamond rush started in 1870 after farmer JJ de Klerk found a 50 carat (10 g) diamond. This was about three years before diamonds were discovered 130 km away at Kimberley.

Mines no longer operate in Jagersfontein, but there were many great finds, such as the 972 carat (194.4 g) Excelsior Diamond of 1893 and the 637 carat (127.4 g) Reitz Diamond of 1895. The diamond mine is the deepest hand-excavated hole in the world. See also main article Jagersfontein Mine.

Jagersfontein was one of the more famous diamond mines and together with the Koffiefontein mine produced one the clearest diamonds of all mines in the early 1900s, despite being overshadowed by the mines at Kimberley (Streeter called its diamonds of the "first water" [cite book
url=http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20050221083602651C821320
first=Edwin
last=Streeter
title=Precious Stones and Gems - Their History, Sources and Characteristics
publisher=George Bell & Sons
date=1898
pages=p105] ).

The Reitz diamond was first named after Francis William Reitz, then state president of the Orange Free State in which Jagersfontein was located. The following year marked the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria (the 60th anniversary of her coronation) so the gem was renamed the Jubilee Diamond to commemorate the occasion. [ [http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/jubileediamond.html The Jubilee Diamond ] ]

It was the second town in South Africa and the first town in the Orange Free State to have electricity and piped water. [ [http://www.openafrica.org/horizon/jagersfontein/history?ned_=6239796d7b040bfb231c25bf2a6670d6 OpenAfrica.com ] ] In the early years, water used to be supplied with a unique system of coin-operated water pumps, using so-called Water Pennies [ [http://www.tokencoins.com/gr07.htm#jagers Some rare South African tokens from the Nomansland region ] ] , situated on street corners.

Jagersfontein has fallen on hard times since the mine was closed, [ [http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20050221083602651C821320 IOL: Free State town forgotten in history ] ] and the downward spiral continued due to municipal mismanagement after the end of Apartheid. Exorbitant property taxes have been imposed on the white residents, causing most of them to leave the town. This in turn led to high unemployment under the remaining residents, both black and white. The public swimming pool and tennis courts have fallen in a bad state of repair, the roof of the sport stadium have been plundered. The golf course has survived thanks to private funds.

ee also

*Battle of Boomplaats

References