Smithfield is a small town situated on the N6 National Route and R701 Regional Route in the Free State province of South Africa.
The town was founded in 1848 in the Orange River Sovereignty (as the region was then named) and is situated in a rural farming district.
Smithfield is the third oldest town in present-day Free State, after Philippolis and Winburg.
The town is tucked into a horseshoe of hills, approximately 132 km south-east of Bloemfontein along the N6 National Road to East London in the Eastern Cape province.
Smithfield is bounded by the Caledon River on the south and east. The district is drained by various tributaries of the Caledon, the Vinkel and Wilgeboom Spruits being the largest. As Smithfield lies 13 km west of the Caledon River, water has to be obtained from boreholes around the town dam.
