The South African village with no fences or burglar bars

In Mpumalanga, South Africa, lies a pint-sized hamlet where geese and police outnumber residents, leaders once quietly convened, and a whisky-laden train famously derailed.

Just under two hours from Johannesburg, Val is considered one of South Africa’s hamlets. It is home to just eight permanent residents, lots of geese, dogs, and a donkey.

“There’s really nothing like it. Val has a huge history and a really unique charm,” said resident Rita Britz.

Alongside her husband André, they have brought new life to the blue-plaque hotel and most other older properties in the area, which they bought decades ago.

Val’s history dates back to the late 1800s, when Joseph Smith and his stepsons acquired a farm at Oudehoutspruit on the banks of the Waterval River.

They established a popular inn along the stagecoach route between the Lowveld and Johannesburg.

The route was replaced in the late 1890s when President Paul Kruger commissioned a railway line for the Transvaal. This marked the start of Val as a rail-linked settlement.

Smith built a new home near the railway junction, and the village began to take shape with a general dealer, post office, blacksmith, roller mill, and hotel. It quickly became a key stop for transport and trade in the Highveld.

Life in Val was disrupted in 1899 with the outbreak of the Anglo Boer War. Due to its rail traffic, Val’s railway station on the vital Natal-to-interior supply line became a strategic point during the war.

Smith, who declared neutrality, was deported, leaving his wife Elizabeth to manage the farm and businesses independently.

Elizabeth famously kept relations with both sides, hosting tea for Afrikaner neighbours while quietly offering rations to British soldiers.

While no major battlefields are recorded in this region, it has been the backdrop for numerous stories and everyday conflicts between the Boers and the British.

On 29 December 1900, during the South African War, brothers Gert and Jack van den Heever planted dynamite on the tracks under Commandant Fanie Buys’ orders.

It was en route to Johannesburg and Pretoria in the then-Transvaal, which the British had seized on 31 May and 5 June 1900, respectively.

Expecting to capture troops, the Boers instead found whisky and festive food meant for British soldiers. Both sides shared a peaceful feast, no casualties, before fighting resumed the next day.

On 6 April 1902, Boer leaders gathered at Val Station, about 20 km east of Greylingstad, to board a train to Klerksdorp for peace talks with the British.

Commandant-General Louis Botha arrived the day before with an escort of commandos and met with other officers in a room in the Val Hotel.

The meeting at Val was a key moment before deciding whether to continue the war or negotiate peace.

The Treaty of Vereeniging was signed on 31 May 1902, which ended the war. Around this time, the town’s name officially changed from Waterval to Val.

Once a year now, Val is flooded by hundreds of visitors for Boer and Brit Day, where parades, reenactments and wreath laying take place.

Val’s global connections continued into the 20th century. In 1913, Mahatma Gandhi was arrested there during his march from Natal to Transvaal, part of his civil disobedience campaign.

The town developed as a hub for surrounding farms, centred on the hotel, station, and sports club.

Over time, it gained a school, a cemetery, and a single church—St Francis of Assisi—which was consecrated in 1965, destroyed by fire in 1970, and rebuilt the following year.

Val began to fall into decline in the 1970s. The railway station closed, the hotel crumbled, and as people drifted to cities, the hamlet seemed destined to disappear.

The Revival of Val

In 1994, the derelict Val Hotel went up for auction, attracting the attention of André and Rita Britz, who had married in the village church in 1982.

For Rita, it was personal. Her family had farmed in and around Val since 1886. “I grew up close by. I came to this shop every Sunday to get the paper,” Rita said.

“My grandfather got his hair cut on his wedding day in the barber shop that is now room 8.”

“I was a teacher in Standerton at the time,” she said, “but I knew we needed this place. It’s too special to let go.”

Though it was derelict, they bought the hotel for R18,000, or around R100,000 in today’s terms. “We didn’t have the money for that, but we had to,” joked Rita.

With a knack for restoration, they and their two daughters moved in mid-1995 and welcomed their first guest in August 1995.

In 2004, they bought the old general store and transformed it into a restaurant, bar and museum.

It is frequented by people from all walks of life – from hikers to bikers to those just wanting to escape city life.

It now also boasts events, including weddings, celebrations, and functions. The town’s residents work in the hotel, bar, or restaurant.

“We have a 100% employment rate in Val,” Rina jokes.

Visiting the town now

BusinessTech visited the quant hamlet and loved its unique charm. As you enter the single street, Smith Street, you are greeted by a large AFGRI storage depot.

The broader Val area is a significant region for agriculture, known for its farming activities and its role in the broader agricultural sector.

As you enter the hamlet itself, brightly painted farm equipment decorates the grass, and a rusted red tractor points the way to the hotel.

Smith Street, one of just three roads in Val, neatly divides the hamlet. On one side sits the Val Hotel, museum, restaurant, pub, church and cemetery.

On the other side are the former post office, the old railway station, and sports fields.

Val has an unusual claim to security. At the end of Smith Street stands a regional police station with 28 officers.

From time to time, the distant rumble of freight trains echoes through the village, a reminder that the old railway still breathes life into Val.

Rita, who jokingly calls herself a “glorified hoarder,” has shaped Val into a space where history lingers. Her influence is clear, mixing the past with a welcoming feel.

The examples are seemingly endless, from bar counters repurposed from the old post office to signs from years gone by.

One such is where wooden panels salvaged from a demolished farm school now line the restaurant walls, one holding a photo of her grandfather outside that very school.

Visitors often find themselves drawn into the stillness of the town. A memorial garden for fallen British soldiers leads to the quaint St Francis of Assisi chapel with its thatched roof and stained glass.

Asked what attracts people here, Rita shrugs and smiles: “There’s lots to see, but nothing to do.” For many, that’s exactly the charm.

Interview with Rita Britz

Photos of Val