The name is of biblical origin, also spelled: "Dal Josafat or Dal Josaphat".
Dal Josafat has an interesting and varied selection of Buildings dating from the 18th Century. This beautiful Area along the road from Paarl to Wellington was settled for the most part by Huguenots. The original Farm of Dal Josafat, now named: "Roggeland", is the oldest in the Area. The farmlands were granted to Peter Buck of Lübeck in 1692, but it was Andries Bernardus du Toit who, in 1780, built the recently restored H-shaped gabled Houses.
'Kleinbosch' was built in 1792 by Guillaume du Toit, on land granted to his grandfather, Francois, one hundred Years before. Kleinbosch has close connections with the Afrikaans language and its origins. It was the birthplace of Stephanus Jacobus du Toit who later, when he became a minister of religion and a journalist, founded and led the Afrikaans Language Movement, 'Die Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners'. Stephanus' elder brother, Daniel Francois, later became editor of the Movement's journal, 'Die Afrikaanse Patriot'. Another member of the group to be connected with Kleinbosch was Petrus Jacobus Malherbe, who bought the property in 1880. A year later his son Daniel Francois was born there, and grew up to be a prominent writer and leader in Afrikaans cultural matters. The Farm School where several of these eminent men were educated is situated at Kleinbosch, as is the Huguenot Cemetery.