| Virginia | |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa Free State#South Africa |
| Coordinates: | -28.1064°N 26.8622°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Free State |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Lejweleputswa |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Matjhabeng |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1950s |
| Government Type: | Part of a Municipality |
| Leader Party: | ANC |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 82.1 |
| Population Total: | 66208 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2011) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 88.7% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 0.7% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.4% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 9.9% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 0.3% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2011) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Sotho |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 65.4% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Xhosa |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 13.1% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | Afrikaans |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 11.0% |
| Demographics2 Title4: | English |
| Demographics2 Info4: | 2.7% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 7.8% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal Code: | 9430 |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Postal2 Code: | 9431 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 057 |
Virginia is a gold mining town located in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality and on goldfields of the Free State province in South Africa about 140 km (90 mi) northeast of Bloemfontein, the provincial capital.
In 1890, two railway surveyors from the state of Virginia in the United States etched the name of their birthplace on a boulder near the farm Merriespruit. When a railway siding was eventually established at this spot, the name was adopted, and it stuck after the discovery of gold in 1949 which resulted in a mushrooming settlement on the banks of the Sand River. In 1988 the Sand River burst its banks and flooded parts of the town. In 1994 the Merriespruit tailings dam disaster occurred just outside Virginia, killing seventeen people.[2]
On 5 December 2000, Virginia was incorporated into the Matjhabeng Local Municipality along with the city of Welkom and the towns of Allanridge, Hennenman, Odendaalsrus and Ventersburg. During the apartheid era, black people Lived outside Virginia in the location of Meloding. The town itself boomed during the gold mining years' golden age and gold mining is still responsible for most of the town's economy.
Virginia is surrounded by some of the largest gold fields in Free State, and its economy is dominated by mining, gold-extraction plants, and the manufacture of sulfuric acid from gold ore. It is also known for having the deepest pipe-mine into the earth on the planet.[3] Commercial farms in the surrounding area primarily grow maize (corn) and raise livestock. Virginia is located on the main rail line between Bloemfontein and Johannesburg.