Fochville, North West

Fochville is a gold mining town situated in North West Province of South Africa and makes out a part of the Merafong Municipal District which also includes Kokosi, Carletonville and Khutsong.

In the area surrounding Fochville are a number of Sotho or Tswana ruins. The Boer War hero, Danie Theron was killed just 5 km north of the town. The town itself was only established as an agricultural centre in 1920 and was named after the World War I commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in France, Marshal of France Ferdinand Foch.

The town has its own well-maintained website that can be found at [http://www.fochville.net www.fochville.net] .

Tourist attractions

The Borehole is the site where, in the early mining days, Western Deep Levels struck a stream of sulphurous water, which to this day surges out of the borehole at 2,000 litres per hour

Piet Viljoen Park is a beautifully landscaped garden near the centre of town.

Renosterfontein is a farm with old Tswana kraals, a traditional African village, and the ruins of a house that belonged to the brothers of President Andries Pretorius

The Thlokwe Ruins are the remains of Tswana and Sotho kraals on the hills surrounding Fochville. They were used until the inhabitants were driven away by Mzilikazi in the 1820s.

The Theron Memorial is a memorial to Boer scout Danie Theron who was killed in 1900 during an engagement with a British detachment. The memorial is situated 8km west of the town on the N12

The Voortrekker Plaque, located to the south west of the Theron Memorial, marks the site of an early Voortrekker fortification of 1842.

Fochville has two primary schools and one high school.

There is also a Bird Farm and Trout Hatchery.