How Brits originated and got its name

The story of Brits’ history stretches as far back as 1840, when Albertus Venter was the first European built a hut in the area. He settled down with his wife and daughter on the farm which is today known as the De Kroon area.

It was not long after he started farming that the Fourie family joined them and on 13 June 1846 the first white baby was born in this area.

Brits

 The farm was bought from Ventre by Philipus Fourie who put up the first permanent homestead know as “Ou Werf”. The railway station was build on the property of Johan Nicolaas Brits, owner of part of the farm Roodekopjies). It opened on 9 July 1906 which lead to residence putting up small businesses on the south side of it (now known Tom Street). This lead to the arrival of mail and in 1915 a post office was built at the station, and the first postmaster Haydon Thomas. It was also in this building that the town’s first telephone was installed and operated by Miss Theron. 1918 saw the steam driven roller mill being built which served the farming community for many decades.

The police station was built in 1921 and Sergent Prinsloo was the first station master

The part of Hendrik Christiaan Brits farm to the north of the rail road was bought by Louis Karovsky and cut up into 940 stands. In October 1923 this was proclaimed as a township. Brits was however officially founded in 1924, on the farm Roodekopjies, and named after the owner Johannes Nicolaas Brits.