Glencoe, KwaZulu-Natal

Glencoe
Glencoe Glencoe
Coordinates: 28°11′00″S 30°09′00″E
Country	South Africa
Province	KwaZulu-Natal
District	Umzinyathi
Municipality	Endumeni
Area
• Total	26.58 km2 (10.26 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	17,548
• Density	660/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	83.0%
• Coloured	1.0%
• Indian/Asian	6.9%
• White	8.9%
• Other	0.2%
First languages (2011)
• Zulu	76.6%
• English	11.9%
• Afrikaans	8.5%
• Other	3.0%
Time zone	UTC 2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	2930
PO box	2930
Area code	034

Glencoe is situated in the Umzinyathi District, District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

The main economic activity in the area is coal mining along with sheep and cattle ranching.

History

With coal discovered 8 km away from Dundee, an efficient way was needed to transport coal to factories other than by ox wagon. The railway from Durban to Johannesburg reached this point on 4 September 1889. A new village sprung up where a branch line was built from the Durban-Johannesburg line to the eastern Transvaal in 1903. The village was renamed Glencoe, after a mountain valley in Lochaber, Scotland, it became a town in 1934.

Trivia

• General French was periodically stationed here during the Second Boer War.
• Boer President Paul Kruger twice stayed overnight during the Siege of Ladysmith, South Africa.
• The house of Carl Landman - second in command at the Battle of Blood River can be found on a farm close to Glencoe.
• Fort Mistake, a fort designed as a communications link between Ladysmith and Newcastle in 1881 and playing a key role in the Anglo-Boer War is nearby.