The village of Rhodes lies on the banks of the Bell River at the foot of the Witteberge. It was laid out on the farm Tintern, and was proclaimed on 16 September 1891. The village was named after Cecil John Rhodes, then Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. Records of a public meeting held there on 24 February 1892 indicate that it must have been known by this name from the onset. Despite this the local Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) congregation was, and still is, known as Rossville. The 1904 census indicated that Rhodes had a population of 432. On 11 November 1899 a party of Boers occupied the village during the Second Anglo Boer War. On 2 December 1899 they were joined by a second group under General J H Olivier. On 23 June 1901 Boer forces under Commandant Fouche returned to Rhodes and remained in occupation for two days before moving on.
By Franco Frescura