List of Towns, Villages and Cities in Masilonyana Local Municipality

Masilonyana Local Municipality is one of five local municipalities in the Lejweleputswa District of the Free State, South Africa. The 2022 census recorded 63,800 residents across 6,617.8 km², and the seat is Theunissen.

The name comes from a Sesotho word for a small kraal or homestead cluster. Masilonyana stretches across the maize and cattle plains north of Bloemfontein, bordered by four sister municipalities within Lejweleputswa District.

Key Facts

Towns and Villages in Masilonyana

The municipality has three towns of real size — Theunissen, Winburg and Winnie Mandela — and a scatter of small rural settlements. GeoNames lists 12 named places.

Smaller places without recorded populations include Florisbad — known for the Florisbad fossil site, a key source of Middle Stone Age human remains — plus Makeleketla, Marico, Molala, Salmonslaa, Soutpan and Uitkyk. Most are farm-worker settlements or rural sidings along the district roads.

Geography

Masilonyana lies in the central Free State, flat to gently undulating highveld grassland at around 1,350 m elevation, drained by the Sand and Vet river systems in the north. Winburg, the district’s oldest town, sits at the foot of a low sandstone ridge. Masilonyana borders Tokologo and Tswelopele to the west, Matjhabeng to the southwest and Nala to the north.

Demographics

The population rose from 59,895 at the 2011 census to 63,800 in 2022, a modest 6.5% increase — slower growth than neighbouring Tswelopele but broadly in line with the rest of Lejweleputswa District. Sotho is the dominant first language at 66.9%, followed by Xhosa (10.8%), Afrikaans (9.6%) and Tswana (6.9%) — a diverse profile reflecting decades of farm and mine labour migration into the district. Population density remains low at under 10 people per km², typical of the Free State’s commercial-farming municipalities.

Economy and Local Life

Agriculture is the backbone of the local economy — maize, sunflower and sheep and cattle farming on the commercial farms surrounding Theunissen, Winburg and Winnie Mandela. Theunissen also has a small history of asbestos and diamond prospecting, long since wound down. Municipal, provincial and school employment, along with grain-handling and farm-supply businesses, account for most formal jobs in the towns.

Getting There

The N1 national route runs through Winburg, connecting Bloemfontein (about 130 km south) to Johannesburg. Theunissen sits on the R70 between Bloemfontein and Welkom. There is no scheduled passenger rail; Bloemfontein’s Bram Fischer International Airport is the nearest airport.

Winburg’s position on the N1 makes it a common overnight and refuelling stop for long-distance travellers between Gauteng and the southern Free State and Eastern Cape. Theunissen and Winnie Mandela are both reached from the N1 or R70 via short tar links; the rural settlements around Florisbad, Soutpan and Marico rely on gravel district roads maintained by the local municipality.

FAQ

What is the seat of Masilonyana Local Municipality?
Theunissen.

How many towns are in Masilonyana?
Three main towns — Theunissen, Winburg and Winnie Mandela — plus smaller villages such as Verkeerdevlei and Florisbad.

What is the population of Masilonyana?
63,800 people at the 2022 census, up from 59,895 in 2011.

Which district and province is Masilonyana in?
Lejweleputswa District, Free State province.

What is Florisbad known for?
An important Middle Stone Age fossil and archaeological site near the spring after which it is named.

What is the main industry in Masilonyana?
Commercial grain and livestock farming, with limited historical mining around Theunissen.