Jamestown, officially James Calata,[2][3] is a town on the N6 national road 58 km south of Aliwal North and 105 km north of Komani in the Joe Gqabi District Municipality of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is at the centre of a fertile sheep, cattle and wheat-farming area and was the terminus of a branch railway line from Molteno. It was named after James Wagenaar, original owner of the farm on which the town was laid out.[4]
Jamestown | |
|---|---|
| James Calata | |
  Jamestown  Jamestown  Jamestown | |
| Coordinates: 31°07′17″S 26°48′24″E / 31.12139°S 26.80667°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Eastern Cape |
| District | Joe Gqabi |
| Municipality | Walter Sisulu |
| Established | 1874 |
| Area | |
• Total | 11.98 km2 (4.63 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 4,666 |
| • Density | 390/km2 (1,000/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 96.0% |
| • Coloured | 1.9% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.3% |
| • White | 1.1% |
| • Other | 0.6% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Xhosa | 92.7% |
| • Afrikaans | 2.2% |
| • English | 1.6% |
| • Sotho | 1.4% |
| • Other | 2.1% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 9742 |
| PO box | 9742 |
| Area code | 051 |
The Jamestown Hospital, which was previously provincially aided, has since January 2011 been fully operated by the Eastern Cape Department of Health.[5]
There are two public schools: Phambili Mzontsundu Senior Secondary School which is situated in town, and Phahameng Primary School which is situated in Masakhane Township. Next to Siyanda Nonkala's home
Notable people associated with Jamestown
edit- Prime Minister John Vorster was born and raised in Jamestown
- Alexander James Kidwell, referred to as the "Father of Jamestown", a merchant, Special Justice of the Peace, and Methodist preacher. The sandstone Kidwell Memorial Church in the main street was named in his memory, as is the adjacent Kidwell Street. His grandparents – Alexander Kidwell and Phebe Tubb – were 1820 settlers.[6]
- H. B. Thom – Rector and later Chancellor of Stellenbosch University, born in Jamestown.
- Hennie Aucamp – Afrikaans poet, writer, cabaretist and academic, educated and matriculated in Jamestown.
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Main Place Jamestown". Census 2011.
- ^ "85 towns hit with name changes in South Africa – and more are on the way". BusinessTech. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ "Minister Nathi Mthethwa on strides made in transforming South Africa's heritage landscape | South African Government". www.gov.za. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- ^ Jamestown entry in Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa Vol 6, p. 182
- ^ "Eastern Cape Department of Health official website". Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ "Kidwell Memorial Church - photo and information by Crankshaw". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
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