Jagersfontein is a small town in the Free State province of South Africa. It is situated approximately 67 km north-west of Trompsburg.
Access to Jagersfontein is gained from the R704 route between Fauresmith and Trompsburg.
Today Jagersfontein serves as a commercial and social service centre within the Kopanong Municipality and The main social and economic functions of the town include; (a) diamond mining operations, (b) regional social centre for health services, (c) general agricultural service centre to surrounding farming areas, and (d) social functions such as residence, education and social services.
History
The town was founded in 1871 with the discovery of the first diamond. The town was named after the original farm, Jagersfontein, once the property of a Griqua, Jacobus Jagers. The Cape Government bought the original farmhouse for use as an office and established what must be one of the most unique gaols in the country, right in front of the house – a Eucalyptus tree trunk to which the prisoners were tied. It was the first town in the Free State to have electricity and a piped water supply.
The town was famous for the exceptional quality of diamonds produced. The Jagger jewel diamond found at Jagersfontein was famous for the exceptional quality. The Excelsior diamond, at 972 carats one of the ten biggest diamonds ever found in the world, came from this mine (1893).
Until the discovery of the Cullinan Diamond near Pretoria (1905), it was also the largest white diamond ever to be found. In present day terms the value of the Excelsior is estimated at R1.2 billion.
Two years later in 1895 another white of 640 carats and of similar quality was found and named the Reitz. Later this stone was renamed the Jubilee. The Jagersfontein of old was a typical mining town of it’s time and it offered all the pleasures and joys of similar towns elsewhere in the world. It had five big hotels and 34 bars, shops and businesses of all Orange Free State. After 34 years of open pit mining, underground mining by means of a vertical shaft and horizontal tunnels (drifts) started in 1913. During the 100 year life span of the mine, several stoppages occurred for example during the two World Wars and the great depression. During this time Jagersfontein’s mine produced 9,625 million carats of diamonds, mostly of jewel quality. It is estimated that due to inefficient mining methods of the past, a large proportion of diamonds from this pipe were never recovered.
