Warrenton is an agricultural town situated at the junction of the N12 and N18 National Routes and on the banks of the Vaal River in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa.
Warrenton is located in the north-eastern part of the Northern Cape Province, on the south bank of the Vaal River, approximately 70 km north of Kimberley, which was in arid country.
The town lies just downstream of the Vaalharts Dam, which supplies water to the Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme.
The N12 National Route, the main route from Kimberley to Gauteng, passes through Warrenton, and the N18 National Route to Mahikeng and Botswana stars there.
The main Cape Town–Kimberley–Johannesburg railway line also passes through the town, and the line to Mahikeng and Botswana branches off at Fourteen Streams, on the north bank of the Vaal opposite Warrenton.
Warrenton town falls within the Magareng Local Municipality under the Frances Baard District Municipality of the Northern Cape Province. It is the main town, as well as the administrative centre/seat of Magareng Local Municipality.
History
In 1870, diamonds were discovered in Kimberley and soon there was a huge demand for food. In 1880, a syndicate bought the western portion of the farm Grasbult on the Vaal River to irrigate the fertile land and produce vegetables for the diamond fields in Kimberley.
In 1888, diamonds were also discovered in the area, leading to another diamond rush, and a town. Mining only stopped in 1926. In 1948 Warrenton became a municipality.
The town was named after Charles Warren who in 1876 was a Cape Colony commissioner surveying the border between Griqualand West and the Orange Free State. He was also Administrator of Griqualand West in 1879, and fought in the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) in the British army.
