History of Uasin Gishu
About Uasin Gishu Way Back When
A Brief History of Uasin Gishu
For forever and a day, the place we now call Uasin Gishu County was initially inhabited by diverse ethnic groups including indigenous communities, like the Sirikwa, and later Nilotic Purko and Uasin Gishu Maasai as well as the Kalenjin. The most prominent among these, the Sirikwa, were a prominent pastoral Iron Age community, thriving from around the 12th to 15th centuries. The Sirikwa people were known for advanced pastoralism, iron use, and unique settlement sites; with circular cattle enclosures. They gradually assimilated into neighboring groups like the Kalenjin, Maasai, Kikuyu, and Luhya, leaving a heritage in oral traditions and archaeological sites, and are considered ancestral to some modern communities.
As the chronicles tell, the little-documented and mysterious Sirikwa were present in the region up until the early 1600s, on the decline, when they were displaced by the Maasai, specifically the Illwuasin-Kishu clan. According to Maasai tradition, the Uasin Gishu front conquered a group of people who occupied the vast Uasin Gishu plateau. This community is remembered as the Senguer. Other Maasai traditions concur with this assertion, noting that the Loosekelai (or Sigerai/Siger) were attacked by an alliance of the Uasin Gishu and Siria communities. Much later, the Nandi later displaced the Maasai, utilizing the area as grazing ground.
By the turn of the century, Kenya also welcomed Afrikaan farmers from South Africa, who settled around Nyahururu and Eldoret. In Nyahururu, they put up a Dutch reformed church and a school called Jan Van Riebeeck School. In Uasin Gishu, they farmed wheat and kept cattle in large farms. Past Kenya Gazette voters list include Kruger, Landsberg, Rensburg, Botha and other Afrikaans. More proper, the little big story of Afrikaans in Kenya states that in 1908, 58 Afrikaner families trekked from South Africa via Nakuru to the Uasin Gishu plateau. They established large-scale farms and were joined by more ‘White Highland’ settlers.
At the same time, the installation of the rail-head at Eldoret 381 km northwest of Nairobi was a key turning point in the origination of Eldoret. Further, Kitale was linked to the main Kenya-Uganda line by a branch railway extending north from Leseru. At both towns sidings, go downs, stockyards as well as the usual trading facilities embracing banks, post offices, shops, hospitals and schools sprung rapidly. In turn, the blossoming of Eldoret was expedited by the activities of British and Afrikaner settlers from South Africa. It soon became a nexus for the region.
Their settlement in Uasin Gishu County gave rise to services such as security and transport. In 1908, the sitting District Commissioner awarded a contract for the construction of the DC’s residence, administrative offices, and stores. The newly-built centre was originally known as “Farm 64” which was the survey map number for this zone. Fertile soils, fair climate, railway and mechanization of farming led to an exponential growth of Eldoret Town and its environs. In November 1912, Farm 64 was renamed as Eldoret (its current name) which covers an area of 11.2 km2.
Between 1906 and 1936, labor migration intensified as African communities such as the Nandi, Abaluhya, Agikuyu, and Luo moved to settler farms, contributing to a multiethnic workforce despite the colonial attempts to enforce ethnic separation. Tensions over land, livestock, and labor continued through the 1940s, exacerbated by the Swynnerton Plan and the Mau Mau Uprising. However, post-independence land-buying schemes fostered ethnic integration, ultimately creating a diverse community in the modern and inclusive district, despite lingering ethnic divisions.
Located in western Kenya within the Rift Valley region, Uasin Gishu County is best known as a grain basket, thanks to its prolific farms and farming culture. Its famed, forward-looking capital, Eldoret, is a major urban center and an international hub for athletics, leisure, education, and commerce. Uasin Gishu is a thriving highland.
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Explore Destinations in Uasin Gishu County
A Guide to Uasin Gishu County
A Summa Digest of Uasin Gishu
About Uasin Gishu Way Back When
40 Destinations in Uasin Gishu County , arranged as one would visit these - south, north, east then north - with aid of narratives, images, strip maps and distance chart:
Timboroa Railway Station , Ainabkoi Forest, Kesses Dam , Kesses Falls , Alten Energy Solar Farm , Mlango (Cheptiik) Falls , Ndalat Hill , Koromosho Falls , Greenwoods Resort , Doinyo Lessos Creamery , Muge Memorial Mausoleum , River Sosiani Park , The Sisibo Cultural Festival, Eldoret Golf Club, Eldoret Nature & Cultural Centre, Poa Place Resort, Eldoret Arboretum , Kapsurur Falls, Two Rivers Dam, Cherunya, Pombo-Sabor Forest, Kolol Recreation Centre, Naiberi River Camp, Elagerini Traveller Camp, Samich Resort, Mektei Ridge, Kerio Viewpoint, Kip Keino Stadium, Eldoret War Cemetery, Sergoit Hill, Kruger's Farm at Sergoit, Sergoit Golf and Wildlife Resort, Chebara Dam, Cherangani Hills, Sirikwa Holes Moiben, Kapsilot Hills, Chebororwa Conservancy, Nangili Rapids
Know More About Uasin Gishu: Its Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads, Airports, Climate & National Monuments
What’s The Air Like, U. Gishu?
Although Uasin Gishu County lies within one degree at the Equator, daily temperatures are moderate and the climate is equitable across the year, between 9 o C and 29 o Celsius, and rarely rising over 30 o C.
What’s The Lay Of The Land In C.27?
Uasin Gishu is a highland plateau with altitude falling from 2,700 ms to about 1,500 ms. The topography is higher to the east and falls gently toward the western border.
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