| Hopetown | |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa Northern Cape#South Africa |
| Coordinates: | -29.6258°N 24.0856°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Northern Cape |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Pixley ka Seme |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Thembelihle |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Leader Title: | Councillor |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 73.86 |
| Population Total: | 10259 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2011) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 18.8% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 73.1% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.7% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 6.9% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 0.5% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2011) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Afrikaans |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 88.1% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Xhosa |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 7.2% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | Tswana |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 1.5% |
| Demographics2 Title4: | English |
| Demographics2 Info4: | 1.3% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 2.0% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal Code: | 8750 |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Postal2 Code: | 8750 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 053 |
Hopetown is a town which lies at the edge of the Great Karoo in South Africa's Northern Cape province. It is situated on an arid slope leading down to the Orange River. The first diamond discovered in South Africa, the Eureka Diamond, was found at Hopetown.
Hopetown was founded in 1850 when Sir Harry Smith extended the northern frontier of the Cape Colony to the Orange River. A handful of settlers claimed ground where there was a natural ford over the Orange River, and by 1854 a frontier town had developed. Hopetown was named after William Hope, Auditor-General and Secretary of the Cape Colony Government at the time, and is often mistaken for a town in the Free State, South Africa, called Hoopstad.
Hopetown was a quiet farming area until several large diamonds, most notable the Eureka Diamond and the Star of South Africa, were discovered there between 1867 and 1869.[2] [3] The Cape Government Railways were founded in 1872, and the Cape government decided to run the main western line, between the Kimberley diamond fields and Cape Town on the coast, directly through Hopetown. The ford was upgraded to a railway bridge in 1884.[4]