Loxton was originally a farm called Phizantefontein, which was owned by A.E. Loxton, whom the town is named after. The farm was bought from him in 1899 by the Dutch Reformed Church for £7,500 to establish a parish for local farmers. The town is believed to have been named after A.E Loxton due to a £50 donation he made to fund the salary of the town’s first Dutch Reformed Church minister.
The town’s first church building and schoolhouse was built in 1900. Tree-lined streets and flood irrigation channels that run alongside the town’s main roads were completed in the same year. The town became a municipality in 1905 as it developed to serve the region’s sheep-farming community. The church that stands in the town’s centre was constructed in 1924.
Most of the small town was destroyed [dubious – discuss] by a flash flood that caused the town’s dam to burst in March 1961. The town has since recovered from the disaster.
CAUTION: Loxton is a daylight trading hours town.
The route does NOT pass through town; however, nothing prevents one from popping into town and re-joining the route at the same point to continue the adventure.