What You Need to Know about Chemanywes or Rock Farm

By Henry Kibiwot Chebii

What comes to your mind when you hear the name Rock farm? My mind will think of a place full of rocks.Yes;A farm with relative abundance of rocks.
If you have ever been to Rock farm you can as well agree it is actually full of rocks
Rock Farm as it is called today refers to the farm that surround's Sergoit Rock(Tulwop Sirgoek)
The vast farm that borders Sergoit Hills to the West belonged to an Afrikaner Hendrick Petrus Van Heerden who was a member of Van Rensburg trek.
After arriving in Uasin Gishu in the year 1909 he took over farm 17 which was initially 3,276 acres and transformed it from thick bush into grazing and agricultural land.
Van Heerden was married to Freda Christina Keese and were blessed with children; Van Heerden Theodorus and Louis Felix.He died in July 1954 and was buried in Eldoret European Cemetery
His son Van Heerden Theodorus took over the ownership of the farm until the year 1967 when he sold the farm, machineries and cattle on a willing buyer willing seller basis to the Africans. The Africans were adamant at first since they believed the place is full of rocks and not suitable for farming.
The farm was later bought up by the members of Keiyo community who managed it as a company until later when it was subdivided to it's members.
However some section of the farm was later transferred to El-farm
Attached below is the house that belonged to Van Heerden, Servants house and the newly established structures of Rock Farm Primary School








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