In 1687 the first farms were granted to settlers in the area. Laborie, Goede Hoop, La Concorde and Picardie were settled by French Huguenots in the following year. In 1720 a church was build and this is often considered to have been the start of the town, although the first settlers were in the area in 1687 and there was a water mill in operation by 1699. A walk through Paarl will reveal several other examples of architecture which survive from different periods. One very extraordinary construction in Paarl unfortunately no longer remains. A miller named Blake had a water mill with a wheel so enormous that it resembled something from the famous Vienna amusement park. The building, minus the wheel, is still in use as a municipal store. Paarl became a municipality on 9 October 1840. The original wagon road became the long main road and a programme was commenced of planting oaks. The town was considered to be the third oldest in South Africa. Culturally, Paarl
played a major part in the establishment of the Afrikaans language.
With his colleagues, Pannevis worked on the grammar and vocabulary of
the language. On 15 January 1876 they launched the first Afrikaans
newspaper, Die Afrikaanse Patriot, printed on a simple little press in
Malherbe’s house. On the slopes of the Paarl Mountains an impressive monument to the Afrikaans language,
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Typical Dutch style dwelling at sunset Old church at the main road
Still standing tall - main road - |
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