History Webs
For the Drakenstein Valley
Jan Phillips
Jan Frederick Phillips and his brothers Boy and Lambert owned JF Phillips & Co in Fabriek Street, Paarl. The factory opened in 1894 and became one of the largest wagon building firms in the country. Read more about Paarl's wagon builders.
Getting there
Paarl Mountain has two access points from Main Street: the one in Suider Paarl near the KWV's head office, and the other in Noorde Paarl near the outskirts of the town.
Mountain passes
The Drakenstein Valley is surrounded by mountains. If you are interested in mountain passes and their histories, see Bainskloof Pass, Du Toitskloof Pass, and Franschhoek Pass.
Paarl Mountain
Paarl Mountain has three prominent granite domes, hence the reference to "pearl" in the town's name. Read more about the geology and the history of the mountain. Years ago many families spent their summer holidays camping on Paarl Mountain. Today Christmas Camp is still one of the most frequented picnic spots on the mountain.
Paarl Mountain's Jan Phillips mountain road
The Jan
Phillips Mountain Road is the only access road to Paarl
Mountain and
was completed in 1928. It was the brainchild of Jan Phillips, one of
Paarl's welknown wagon builders. Phillips was a keen hiker and fond of
walking on Paarl Mountain. His idea of building a contour road on the
slopes of Paarl Mountain to give motorists access to the
mountain was met with much scepticism. To prove that a
road was possible, he packed a knapsack and started to stake out his a
route - apparently on Sunday
mornings after church. His efforts paid off and soon some local farmers
joined him to build a rudimentary "voorpad."
Having proved a point, he once
again approached the authorities to help him finance
the road. This time he was more successful and they agreed to foot the
bill, but only for half of the anticipated costs. The rest he would
have to collect from
Paarl's residents. The road was completed at a cost of
£12,000 fo which Phillips contributed £5,000.