Sandton

Sandton is a wealthy area situated within the metro of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. The name comes from the combination of two of its suburbs, Sandown and Bryanston. In 1969 Sandton was promulgated as a municipality in its own right, but lost its status as an independent town after the re-organisation of South African local governments. Archaeological findings suggest the area, which Sandton comprises today, had originally been occupied by various indigenous groups, before European settlement. Most notably the Tswana people. The first of the Voortrekkers to settle in the area were... those of the Esterhuysens of Zandfontein. A monument to commemorate them may be found just off Adrienne Street. In the 1870s the Wilhelmi family of Hanover, Germany acquired the farm Driefontein No.3. Driefontein along with the farms Rietfontein and Zandfontein encumbered what is today Sandton. Their original home, now within the confines of the Field & Study Centre, was looted during the Anglo-Boer War. Their 1906 Parkmore farmhouse served as the icon for the Sandton Historical Foundation. The Ehler family owned Rietfontein farm.
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