Kroonstad is the third-largest city of the Free State province of South Africa and lies two hours drive from Gauteng.Kroonstad was established in 1855 by the Irish pioneer Joseph Orpen, and was the first city founded after the independence of the Orange Free State. While "Kroon" means crown, this was in fact the name of a horse that had drowned in the nearby ford. A lover of animals, Orpen had witnessed the incident, and named the infant settlement in honour of the unfortunate creature. Similarly, the ford in question came to be known as Kroondrift.During the Second Boer War, from 13 March to 11 May 1900, the city became the capital of the Orange Free State, and subsequently the site of a British concentration camp to accommodate Boer women and children.It is the second largest commercial and urban centre in the Northern Free State, and an important railway junction on the main line from Cape Town to Johannesburg.EconomyKroonstad is the centre of a rich agricultural district, producing maize, wheat, dairy and meat products and wool. The main industry is agriculture. The Bloemhoek Dam lies just east of the city and supplies much of its water needs. A caravan park and many more camp sites on the banks of the willow-lined Vals River (Valsrivier) are frequented by anglers and watersport enthusiasts.
