Beaufort West is a town in the Western Cape province in South Africa. It is the largest town in the arid Great Karoo region, and is known as the "Capital of the Karoo". It forms part of the Beaufort West Local Municipality, with 34 085 inhabitants in 2011.It is the centre of an agricultural district based mainly on sheep farming, and is a significant town on the N1 national road.Next door to Beaufort West is the Karoo National Park. Important fossils have been found in the area, initially by David Baird, son of the local magistrate in 1827.As part of a drive to create employment opportunities, a hydroponics project was started and used to supply premium herbs and vegetables nationally. Despite receiving awards and rescue funding, the project was not sustainable and has been defunct since 2010.The old Town Hall and the Dutch Reformed Church have been declared national monuments.HistoryBeaufort West was the first town to be established in the central Karoo. The town was founded in 1818 and initially named Beaufort after Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort, who was the father of Lord Charles Henry Somerset, then governor of the Cape Colony. The town was renamed Beaufort West in 1869 to avoid confusion with Port Beaufort in the Western Cape as well as Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape.
