Murderers' Graves

About Murderers' Graves

The small village of Fauresmith has a large number of interesting graves. Shocking tales of past truths will forever by told on the tombstones of three murderers who were executed in public just one kilometre outside of this town between 1868 and1870. The then Orange Free State province cordially invited the public to attend the executions as if they were a social event.

The most popular execution was the second one that saw a so-called coloured man named Appels face an immediate death penalty. This gathering drew crowds in large numbers as if they needed to witness justice first-hand to feel satisfied. Appels killed a harmless transport-rider who was sleeping under his wagon. Appels was swiftly executed the very same day that he committed the crime.

The first execution in an audience was the consequence of love. A Caucasian man named Richardt ended his wife's life so that he could take a younger bride that he had developed intimate feelings for. The grand finale of these open-air persecutions was that of a Black African man who terminate the days of Mrs. Rossouw while she was doing her laundry.

Follow the street sign that swings from a pole reading ' 'Mooderdenaars Graafte' (Murderer's Graves) and visit the grave sites that made life interesting and kept the town on guard an in gossip.