Only the Rondavel and Fountain House remain today as evidence of the early history of Jongensfontein , which can be traced back as far as 1762.
In June 1970, these structures became the property of the Municipality and in December 2002 the Fountain House Museum and Information Centre was opened.
DIE FONTEIN HUIS
Jan Oosthuizen built the Fountain House (Fonteinhuis) in 1940 using local stone.
The first owners of this holiday home were Jacob Wouter du Preez and his wife Tobietta. Over the years ownership changed twice and the building was then expropriated by the municipality in 1970.
The house was rented out as holiday accommodation for a number of years until it became the property of the municipality.
In 2002 the Jongensfontein Cultural-Historical Association was established and opened The Fonteinhuisie Museum and Info Centre.
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GENERAL HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
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The tenant or loan farm, Zwarte Jongensfontein (also known as Groote Jongensfontein) comprising 2973 morgens (±2,546 ha) lay between the Duivenhoks and Goukou rivers, and was allocated by permit in the eighteenth century to farmers as grazing land.
In 1855 this area became a joint perpetual quitrent farm allocated to seven farmers.
In 1916 the area was subdivided, and a certain portion of the land became the property of George Frederik Muller. His Deed of transfer, however, had a servitude addendum allowing all holders of subdivisions of the original Zwarte Jongensfontein farm, water rights for cattle.
This servitude, covering 12 morgens (±10 ha) around the perennial spring, is known to this day among older Jongensfonteiners as the “Watering Place”. Certain owners of water rights, on grounds of the ownership of subdivisions, built beach houses at the Watering Place.
Two of these owners were Giepie Joubert, the first owner of the Rondavel, and Wouter du Preez, the original owner of the Fountain House.
In 1966/67 the estate of Jacobus Lodewicus Muller (son of George Frederick and, from 1925, owner of his father’s portion of Zwarte Jongensfontein and keeper of the watering-place servitude) was expropriated and the village of Jongensfontein was laid out on this land.
The expropriation of the watering rights led to a ten-year dispute and, finally, an arbitration decision. Three Watering-Place houses fell prey to development.
Only the Rondavel and Fountain House remain as evidence of previous land ownership and a water dispute.
These buildings stand as a part of history on the original servitude ground and a portion of the Watering Place.
DIE FONTEIN HUIS MUSEUM
ONS GESKIEDENIS
JIV / JRA
HEADQUARTERS
The Museum and Info Centre is currently run by the JRA who also uses it as their "headquarters", having access to an office in the building.
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ARCHITECTURAL BACKGROUND
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The building phases of house construction at the Jongensfontein beach were as follows: first reed and clay houses, then zinc and plank houses, later limestone houses, followed by sea rock houses, and later houses made of cement blocks, and ultimately stone houses. Therefore, the Rondavel and the Fontein House represent the sea rock phase and stand on the site where reed and clay houses (from the first building phase) were previously located. The architectural styles can also be considered somewhat characteristic.
Several sea rock rondavels were built by hand - another one stands elsewhere. Houses like the Fontein House, with a square main section and enclosed porch with wooden shutters, were common in early Jongensfontein. Some of them still stand today, until development also caused them to tilt. These two buildings thus offer significant possibilities for preserving Jongensfontein and broader regional history.
In addition to the aforementioned facts, there is also the possibility that it can be turned into a conservation complex by adding "replicas" of the original reed and clay houses, as well as the outdoor oven building. By preserving these two buildings and utilizing them as places of historical preservation, local heritage and museum knowledge are brought to the people, allowing them to enjoy it along with their vacation.
EXTRACT FROM DOCUMENT BY BARBARA DE JAGER