Koppies
town in the Free State, South Africa
Koppies is a small town (railway station) situated near the Renoster River in the Free State province of South Africa.
Geography
The town is situated 63 km north-east of Kroonstad, 48 km west of Heilbron and 42 km south-south-east of Parys. It was laid out as a township in 1910 and became a municipality in 1926. Formerly Kopjes, meaning 'hills', the name is derived from that of the farm on which it was laid out, Honingkopjes, Dutch for 'honey hills'.
History
General De Wet donated his Farm "Rooipoort" to be set up for under-privileged whites in the form of a few morgen irrigation land, and then a few morgen "dry" land for cultivating maize, etc. By the time the people got out of the war they were very poor, and were supplied with a few eggs and a paraffin lamp/hatcher for the eggs.
By demand/pressure of General De Wet, the Koppies Dam was constructed to supply water for irrigation, and work to the local people who needed it badly. During the 1960s, the wall of the dam was raised to where it is today.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Koppies” as town in the Free State, South Africa. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as town in the Free State, South Africa. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3642525. Authority coordinates are -27.233, 27.583. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1910 and 1926.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Koppies”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Koppies primary sources, Koppies archive and Koppies research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Koppies”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Koppies” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.