Baden-Powell in Modderfontein
Following the relief of the Siege of Mafeking, Baden-Powell was deployed to Modderfontein on the East Rand to guard the dynamite factory there, and later to establish the South African Constabulary.
A tour of Modderfontein
As part of the 2nd African Scout Moot, an audio tour was recorded (in English and French) which records the history of this area. This page includes a map, visual resources from this tour, as well as the written text of the audio recordings.
The Dynamite Museum
This building was constructed in 1895. It was originally the official residence of the factory’s chief engineer. Today, it serves as a vital time capsule for South African industrial history.
To understand why this place exists, we have to go back to the 1880s. When gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand, miners hit deep, hard quartz rock that regular picks and shovels couldn't crack. They needed serious blasting power.
Originally, President Paul Kruger granted a lucrative dynamite monopoly to local businessmen. But they cheated the system. They built a tiny black powder plant near Pretoria. Then, they simply imported cheap European explosives, repackaged them, and sold them to the mines at a massive markup.
Furious at this corruption, Kruger’s government took control. They asked the global Nobel Dynamite Trust for help. The Nobel trust sent an expert named Ned Findlay from Scotland. Findlay surveyed the entire mining reef from Krugersdorp to Heidelberg. On his ship ride home, he wrote a concise 12-page report. He dedicated exactly one page to each site. Out of 12 choices, he recommended Modderfontein.
The farm was chosen for three practical reasons:
- It’s Proximity: as it sat close to the gold mines for fast delivery.
- It’s Safety: It was far enough from Johannesburg to protect citizens from accidental blasts.
- It’s Topography: Where the natural hills allowed for gravity-fed production. Moving volatile nitroglycerine mechanically was far too dangerous.
Construction began in earnest around 1894. The factory was officially opened in 1896 by President Paul Kruger. It was called: De Zuid-Afrikaansche Fabrieken voor Ontplofbare Stoffen, It instantly became the largest commercial explosives factory in the world.
Step inside to see incredible artifacts. You can view the actual theodolite used to survey this very land in 1894. You will also find some artefacts from the blockhouse built by BP in the front room. Towards the back of the building you will see some photographs of Scout camps and activities over the years in Modderfontein
The museum also protects the company’s earliest handwritten minute books and original survey drawings.
Outside you can see historic transportation artifacts.
Franz Hoenig Haus
This is Franz Hoenig Haus, built in 1896.
This house was the heart of the village. It was constructed for Franz Hoenig, a brilliant Austrian engineer. The Nobel Trust's directors deliberately chose Hoenig for his unique abilities. He spoke five different languages fluently. This skill was critical. The early workforce was a motley, polyglot population. Hoenig used his linguistic talents to unite immigrants from Italy, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and the UK. He successfully pulled these different cultures together to build the factory and town.
Hoenig hired expert German craftsmen, masons, and carpenters. They imported all the building materials directly from Germany. Notice the distinct Germanic roof and unique architectural style.
This house has survived decades of deep history. Seven successive factory managers lived here between 1897 and 1949.
But this is where our scouting history links up. In 1899, the South African War broke out . Franz Hoenig returned to Europe. The factory stopped making mining explosives. It shifted overnight to make military munitions for the Boer forces .
By June 1900, British forces occupied the village. They established an elite paramilitary peacekeeping force. This was the South African Constabulary. The man placed in command was Major-General Robert Baden-Powell – the future founder of the Global Scout movement. BP made this village his military headquarters. He lived right inside Franz Hoenig Haus.
It was during these intense military years, right here in the South African veld, that Baden-Powell trialled core concepts of resourcefulness, scouting, and small-unit leadership that would eventually form the blueprint for Scouting. He walked these same garden paths while conceptualizing the ideas that changed youth development forever.
To honour this incredible history, one room inside the house is completely dedicated to Baden-Powell. It preserves artifacts and memories from his time commanding the force on this estate.
Before you move to the next building, take a look beneath the house. See if you can spot the entrance to the old wine cellar. Today it is a bar and function venue which you can hire out for functions.
High road and Main Street
Right here, on Main Street, stood the first two formal houses ever constructed on the factory property. One was built for the factory manager, Franz Hoenig, and the other for his chief engineer. Because this area was nothing but open veld when construction began, there were no local materials available. Every single brick, piece of timber, and sheet of corrugated iron had to be shipped across the ocean from Europe to the port of Durban, and then painstakingly hauled inland by ox wagon.
Standing at this spot around 1900, you would have been surrounded by a fascinating patchwork of miniature European colonies. To accommodate thousands of foreign workers, the factory built self-sufficient, culturally segregated villages.
The German Village: Situated right around this sector, it was originally named Hamburg before being changed to Antwerp during the First World War. The families lived in imported corrugated iron houses and maintained their own community hall.
- ‘Italy’: Located on the far edge of the property, right where the modern Gautrain railway line cuts through today.
- ‘Holland’: Nestled in an area that was eventually swallowed up by the expansion of the heavy factory lines.
- ‘Berea’: A neighbourhood set aside for what the locals called the "leftovers"—anyone who didn't fit neatly into the main European language groups.
For these families, arriving in the wild, dusty Highveld from developed European cities was a massive culture shock. Yet, they quickly built a fully functioning society.
Looking diagonally across the intersection, just behind the treeline stood the village’s very first school. Look for the tall Cyprus tree. It was erected in the late 1896. Built in the shape of a massive capital letter 'I', it was designed to hold 100 children. There were no school buses back then; children from the surrounding areas arrived at class on horseback or by foot. They tied their mounts to tethering posts at the back of the playing fields. When the break bell rang, instead of playing sports, the children would take their horses down to the local dam to water them.
This schoolground holds a special Scout legacy. The 1st Northrand Scout Troop registered here in 1912. It was the area's first troop. A dedicated Scout Hall stood next to the school. Generations of Scouts started their journey here.
Now, look across to the opposite corner. That house has a funny history. A local medical doctor lived there around 1900. Tragically, he went completely deaf. He could no longer treat medical patients safely. But he did not leave the village. He completely changed careers and became the local dentist! Later, his highly versatile building became the Girl Guide Hall. Right next door, the village trading store and bakery were built in the early 1900s, ensuring the isolated community had access to fresh bread and daily provisions without needing to travel the long, arduous road to Johannesburg.
As you walk up the road, you will notice the three historic houses standing on the right.
Take a close look at them. You will see there is no visual symmetry between the buildings.
They look completely different from one another.
These houses were not originally built here. They used to stand far beyond where the Gautrain runs today. When the Gautrain project was proposed, part of the agreement was to move the houses to their current location.
Teams moved everything brick by brick. Every piece of original fabric was brought here and reconstructed. Look at the roofs. Only the roof on the far building is modern and new. Everything else is completely original. Today, the locals refer to this spot as the “Resurrection Site”.
High Road and Bloemfontein Road
On the right,under the trees, you are looking at the historic German houses built in 1896. At first glance, it looks like one single, massive mansion. But it is actually a semidetached building housing two completely separate homes. The architects purposefully did not match the two ends of the building to give it an eccentric, unified look. One side features a beautiful veranda, while the other boasts a large bay window. Notice the incredibly steep, sloping roof. This design was imported directly from Germany to allow winter snow to slide right off. Of course, on the sunny South African Highveld, snow was hardly a regular problem!
Right on this corner stands a strange, weathered structure. This is one of the village's original communal water points. In the early days of Modderfontein, there was no running water or plumbing laid out for the houses. The Rand Water Board only connected the village to a main line in 1922.
Before that, water had to be collected by hand. The water came from the Klondike Spring, located on the far side of the factory property. A dedicated donkey cart or horse cart hauled the water up the hill and pumped it into a tank hidden behind this unit. The driver would travel through the streets shouting out to residents that the water had arrived. You can still see the hook on the structure where villagers hung their heavy metal buckets while turning the tap.
Look up at the massive, towering trees surrounding this residential zone. These trees were not planted just for shade or decoration. They were an active line of defence. The factory management specifically planted thick, dense rows of blue gums and pine trees to act as a physical buffer zone. If an accidental blast occurred at the chemical lines down the valley, these massive treelines were designed to absorb the primary shockwave, trap flying debris, and protect the residential homes from devastation.
The Weather Station
Look closely at the stone building in front of you. Built in 1896, this facility was not a luxury for local hobbyists. It was an operational necessity to prevent a catastrophic explosion that could have levelled the entire region.
You might be surprised to learn that you are not looking at this building in its original spot. In the 1970s, the factory needed to expand to construct a new artificial ammonia plant. To preserve this vital piece of industrial history, heritage masonry specialists carefully dismantled the entire weather station brick-by-brick and rebuilt it exactly as it was, here on this new site.
Manufacturing dynamite required handling massive quantities of nitroglycerine. This chemical is extraordinarily sensitive to atmospheric friction, sudden temperature changes, and static electricity. As you know, the Highveld is notorious for its sudden, violent summer thunderstorms. A single stray bolt of lightning striking an active production line would mean total devastation.
To put the stakes into perspective, the shattering blast radius of a large-scale dynamite catastrophe is immense. In 1896—the exact same year this factory opened—the famous Braamfontein Dynamite Explosion occurred nearby when a trainload of dynamite detonated. That blast completely flattened every single building within a one-kilometre radius, obliterated surrounding suburbs, and left a massive crater the size of a sports field. The shockwave was so powerful that windows rattled 50 kilometres away in Pretoria, and the sound of the explosion was heard up to 200 kilometres away in Klerksdorp!
Knowing that a single spark at Modderfontein could mirror that level of destruction, this station was the factory's primary defence system. Its sole purpose was to track shifting air pressure, incoming storm fronts, and electrical build-up in the air.
When the meteorologists inside detected an approaching storm, they didn't just log it—they triggered the factory’s massive, siren-driven evacuation protocol. The ramifications of that siren were instant and absolute:
- Total Evacuation: All manufacturing ground to a halt. Workers immediately abandoned the danger zones and fled to safety bunkers.
- The Decontamination Wash: Crucially, before the factory could be left empty, the entire production area had to be thoroughly washed down. Teams had to clear away any residual chemical dust or loose liquid, ensuring that if lightning did strike the buildings, there would be no fuel to ignite a chain reaction blast.
From 1896 until 1948, this small building served as the official weather station for the entire Transvaal region. Every piece of regional weather data was recorded right here, until O.R. Tambo International Airport took over tracking duties after World War II.
The factory's legacy of testing sirens actually lives on today. Every Friday at exactly 12:00 PM, the modern factory's emergency alarm is still tested across the village. In the early days, if you heard that siren switch to a flat, continuous tone, it was the historic 'all-clear' signal that the storm had passed and it was safe to return to work.
The Flagpole and Blockhouse
This high ground was the primary communication and security hub for early Modderfontein. Originally, a massive wooden flagpole stood at the top of this hill – you can see the stone base of the flagpole at the top of the hill. President Paul Kruger required a physical warning system when he authorized the factory. There were no telephones or mobile networks back then.
Whenever a dangerous chemical process or mixing session was happening down in the factory lines, workers hoisted a bright red flag. The surrounding landscape was completely desolate and barren of trees. This allowed residents and travellers to see the danger flag from miles away.
The high flagpole was a massive lightning magnet. It was struck by lightning repeatedly over the years . By the late 1940s, factory sirens and telephone networks replaced the old flag system. Interestingly, the company could not just tear the pole down. Because it was a state-mandated security measure, the government had to pass an official Act of Parliament to legally discontinue the flag.
This hill is also where Major-General Robert Baden-Powell transformed his career. Biographers frequently refer to Baden-Powell as "the man who lived twice". His "first life" was lived as a celebrated, strict British military war hero. His "second life" was as the peaceful founder of the global Scouting movement.
His time here commanding the South African Constabulary (SAC) was the bridge between those two lives. He was changing from a soldier into a peacemaker.
To build this new police force, he required every single recruit to stand on this ground and recite a strict legal oath:
“I, (Name), do solemnly swear that I will faithfully, diligently and impartially execute and perform the duties required of me as a member of the South African Constabulary and will well and truly obey and perform all lawful orders and instructions”
Baden-Powell designed this specific oath to serve as the absolute legal foundation for the force. But he knew legal words were not enough. He complemented the oath with a strict "Code of Honour". This code focused heavily on personal responsibility and introduced a brand-new motto: “Be prepared”. This exact civic structure directly influenced the development of the global Scout Promise and Law we use today.
To train his men, Baden-Powell used the open fields around this hill for fastpaced Gymkhana horse games. Standard British military riding was far too stiff and rigid . Baden-Powell wanted to break that habit. He wanted to transform basic riders into intuitive, flexible horsemen.
He believed that a man who could play complex games on horseback would remain relaxed and effective as a scout during a real crisis. These games made his men just as agile and adaptive as the local Boer commandos they were tasked with tracking.
To protect this strategic high ground from snipers, Baden-Powell erected a specialized defensive fort right here. It followed the famous Rice Blockhouse design. These unique structures were brilliant pieces of frontier engineering. They could be constructed by a small team in just a single day at very little cost.
The builders erected two concentric circles of corrugated iron sheets. They then packed the gap between the two metal walls tightly with layers of local rocks and soil. This thick, composite wall made the structure completely bulletproof and impregnable to sniper fire.
The blockhouse is no longer standing today. After the war ended, local residents systematically salvaged and nicked the valuable corrugated iron sheets. If you look closely at the ground, you can still see a scattered heap of old stones.
The Church
On the right we have the original Modderfontein Community Church. But here is the secret: the building you are looking at didn't start its life here.
This church was originally built in 1900, right in the middle of the Anglo-Boer War, but it was located far away on the eastern side of the factory. In 1918, as the village centre shifted, the town planners decided the church was too far away for the residents to walk to. They dismantled the entire wood-and-iron structure, moved it piece by piece, and reassembled it right here on Main Street. It became known locally as the "Walking Church."
For decades, this single building was a rare example of unity. It was an interdenominational church, meaning it wasn't owned by just one faith. On any given Sunday, the Catholics would hold mass in the early morning, followed by the Anglicans, then the Presbyterians, and finally the Methodists. They all shared the same roof, the same pews, and the same pulpit.
While the very first troop in the area (1st Northrand) started near the school, the 1st Modderfontein troop later made this church their home.
For years, this building was the site of the monthly Church Parades. On the first Sunday of every month, the Scouts would march in full uniform from their hall up the road, led by their flag bearers, to attend a dedicated service here. It was a tradition that linked the discipline of Baden-Powell’s movement directly to the village's community heart.
Although the building is no longer a church, you can still see the architecture of the steep roof and arched windows.
The Casino
The majestic double-story building at 1 Casino Road, Built in 1897, is the historic Modderfontein Casino. The name is a bit misleading. This structure was never a gambling hall. Originally, it served as a premier gentlemen's club. It was a recreational mess for senior, bachelor factory staff. The ground floor housed a lively billiards room, a reading room, and a bar. Upstairs and to the right was the local library. It remained open twenty-four hours a day. This allowed late-night shift workers constant access to books. The Italian factory workers named it the Casino meaning the ‘social club’.
Everything changed during the British occupation in 1900. Major-General Robert Baden-Powell took over the building. He transformed the Casino into the official Officers' Mess and training hall for the South African Constabulary.
Baden-Powell established a grueling daily routine for his recruits. The training was physically and mentally intense. Mornings were spent out in the open veld. Recruits practiced hard horsemanship and tactical riding drills.
But the afternoons belonged inside these walls. Baden-Powell converted the massive upstairs lounge into his personal classroom and lecture hall. Here, rough wartime soldiers from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere in the British Empire sat at wooden desks. Every afternoon, BP personally taught them courses in civil law, local court procedures, and station management. He was actively turning soldiers into peace-time police officers.
The training did not end when the sun went down. Nights brought an entirely different set of challenges. Recruits were forced out into the pitch-black Highveld terrain. They conducted intense night-time route marches and blind night rides. BP often sent men out alone on horseback. They had to navigate hundreds of kilometres of dangerous, dark wilderness. This taught them to fend for themselves and trust their own intelligence.
Yet, Baden-Powell balanced this harsh discipline with a deep focus on personal care and reflection. He strongly believed that a true scout required a quiet, grounded mind. Recruits were taught habits of strict personal hygiene, health preservation, and daily self-discipline. Every evening ended with a mandatory period of rest and quiet reflection. Men examined their actions and committed to doing a good turn for someone else every day.
If you step inside today, you will find the building operates as a business centre. Remarkably, the historic interiors are largely intact. The original, intricate pressed steel ceilings and high wooden beams look down on the office spaces. The Victorian fireplaces still stand proud in the meeting rooms. The dark wood panelling of the old Gentlemen’s Bar still lines the walls. Should you be able to go inside, look closely at the main conference room to spot a striking stained-glass window. It was installed later when the building served as the local Modderfontein city hall.
In this building, Baden-Powell transitioned from a warrior to a teacher. The strict daily routines and character reflections built right here laid the foundations for the global Scout Promise and Law
The hospital
This is Harley Street. Management named this lane after London's famous medical district. This exact spot was the medical heart of early Modderfontein. Here stood the original factory hospital and doctor's quarters. The hospital was built in 1895. It was constructed at the exact same time as the dynamite factory. Manufacturing explosives was incredibly dangerous work. Immediate emergency care was vital for the workers.
Because of this, the proximity of the hospital to the village was deliberate. When Major-General Robert Baden-Powell arrived in 1900 with the South African Constabulary, his medical officers operated right on this strip. The commander, his elite officers, and the medical staff all worked within this tight, high-security precinct.
In those early days, factory accidents required quick transport. The factory's very first "ambulance" consisted of a simple canvas stretcher. It was mounted on two massive wheels. Attendants physically rolled injured workers across the veld to this hospital. Later, the company upgraded to a four-wheeled wagon with large red crosses painted on the sides, drawn by two black horses,.
As the local population grew, patient accommodation became scarce. To solve this, management constructed a separate, smaller single-detached ward further down the road in Berea village. This smaller building handled overflow cases and later served an essential role during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.
Years later, in 1911, a much larger facility opened a few kilometres away. That was the grand Springkell Sanatorium. It was built to treat miners suffering from severe respiratory illnesses. Today, that iconic site forms the centre-piece of the modern Heritage Estate.
Original farm house and dams
Look out over the valley sweeping down before you. You are looking at the natural landscape where the story of Modderfontein first began. Before the world's largest dynamite factory arrived, this land was a quiet, rugged Highveld farm. It was owned by a legendary Boer big-game hunter named Willem Prinsloo. The locals nicknamed him Willem Wragtig. He originally acquired this massive farm by bartering elephant ivory, animal skins, and horns.
When the industrial gold rush exploded, a mining group bought the farm from Prinsloo. Part of the strict legal agreement allowed the Prinsloo family to continue living on their homestead for the rest of their lives. Sadly, nothing remains of their original farmhouse today.
Notice the streams that we have crossed snaking down the valley into the massive system of dams below. The factory creators did not build these dams for beauty. They were an industrial necessity. The factory required millions of litres of water to generate high-pressure steam, power cooling systems, and safely wash volatile nitroglycerine .
The different dams had very different, hidden purposes:
- Dam 2, the "Soap Dam": This dam holds a dark chemical history. The factory chanelled all its hazardous manufacturing waste here. This included the soapy, alkaline water used to neutralize raw explosives. Over decades, evaporation left behind concentrated, highly toxic chemical levels. No plants or animals could survive here. But massive modern environmental cleanup projects successfully saved it. Today, the water is entirely clean, the toxicity is gone, and thriving birdlife has completely reclaimed the shoreline.
- Dam 3, the Fish Eagle Dam: This beautiful body of water was built in 1896, the factory used it as a major recreational escape. More importantly, MajorGeneral Robert Baden-Powell camped right along this lakeside shoreline with his early South African Constabulary troops. It became the primary tactical training ground for the Modderfontein Land and Sea Scouts. Today it is a picnic and fishing spot inside the reserve. Cutty Sark Scout group and the Modderfontein Conservancy meet on the opposite side of the dam from the old Scout Campsite.
Beyond the dams, across the Highway to the west was a farm known as Frankenwald. Baden-Powell hunted birds and antelope on this farm with his friend Alfred Beit.
B-P Coach
B-P Coach is the historic ZASM rail coach which was used by Baden-Powell while he was based at Modderfontein. It can be visited at Gilwell, Florida
Acknowledgements
This project was inspired by the research of Karl Kohler, who’s family has lived near Modderfontein since the 1880s. Karl recorded the Scouting history of Modderfontein, including memories of his grandfather, in a series of articles that were the basis of this audio tour.
The dynamite museum and the Modderfontein conservation society provided support, access to sites and additional research material. Robby Vermont and Keith Martin led tours which helped in the compilation of this material. Warren Rocchi provided unpublished material from Karl Kohler.
A Scout donation platform campaign provided the funding for this project. Thank you to Richard, Ben, Marc, Louise, Gareth, Kathleen, and 3 anonymous donors for making this possible.
The scripts were researched and written by Paula Groenewald, Debby Symons, Desiree Hogan, Allison Odgers, Martin Rutter and Peter le Roux
The English version was recorded by Dawn Ledbitter at AMPD studios in Johannesburg, and the French version was recorded by the Rasoamehenina family at Solid Gold Studios in Johannesburg