In 1867 the Nazareth (Middleburg) congregation broke away from the
Lydenburg district and the Vaal River ward then fell under the
jurisdiction of the Nazareth congregation. Due
to the vast expanse of the Vaal River ward it's inhabitants insisted on a
congregation of their own. In 1870 Frans Lion Cachet established a
congregation and named it after
the town in Netherlands where he converted to Christianity. In April
1872 a
general church meeting was held and despite some complaints by members
of the Nazareth community the establishment of the Ermelo
congregation was ratified.
It
was more than 10 years after it's establishment that a church was built
for the congregation. This was because the church council could not
reach a decision on an appropriate location. Three farms were considered
and finally in 1879 the eastern part of the farm Nooitgedacht(2572 ha)
was purchased for R2000. The start of the first boer war delayed the
building of the church but when completed the church consisted of a
corrugated iron
roof, dung-smeared floor and could seat 300 people.
A larger
church building was erected and inaugurated in 1893. The foundation of
the new church was built with dolerite (yster klip) and walls were
constructed of sandstone. During the second Anglo-Boer war the whole
town was destroyed except for a single house and the church.The church
was however plundered by the British soldiers removing all it's contents
including the organ.
In 1880 the town consisted of four long
north-south streets and eight short streets running east-west. All
streets in Ermelo were 30,5 meter wide. Wide enough for an ox-drawn
wagon to turn around in.
The church council was responsible for
the management of Ermelo. With the outbreak of smallpox in 1893 the
Transvaal Government established health committees in the various
districts. When the Transvaal government took over management of Ermelo
in 1895 the health committee got more authority. The number of members
increased to five and were elected by the male inhabitants of the town.
