Enon, South Africa

Enon is a small town in the Eastern Cape in South Africa. It is named after the biblical place mentioned in John 3:23[2] It lies 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) east of Kirkwood and 60 kilometres (37 mi) north-east of Uitenhage.

Enon
Enon Show map of Eastern Cape Enon Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 33.398°S 25.545°E / -33.398; 25.545
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
District	Sarah Baartman
Municipality	Sundays River Valley
Area [1]
• Total	1.4 km2 (0.5 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	2,160
• Density	1,500/km2 (4,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	47.3%
• Coloured	51.9%
• Indian/Asian	0.1%
• Other	0.7%
First languages (2011) [1]
• Afrikaans	52.1%
• Xhosa	43.6%
• English	1.5%
• Other	2.8%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	6125
PO box	6125

Enon (formerly known as Witterivier) was formed in 1818 by the Moravian Missionary Society on request of the Area Landdrost Jacob Glen Cuyler,[3] to serve as a buffer between the Xhosa, Tembu and Fingo tribes living outside the Cape Colony and the European farmers and towns inside the Cape Colony.[4] The land was granted to the Missionary Society in trust, to be administrated on behalf of the Cape Colony in the interests of residents of the missionary station.[5]

Within the first 35 years of its inception it was caught in the middle of three Cape Frontier Wars and the First Anglo-Boer War,[6] and has been evacuated on three separate occasions.[7][8][9]

Enon is referred to in the 1840s by James Backhouse in his diary.

In 1909 control of the town was ceded back to the Union of South Africa.[10] The governance of Enon currently falls under the Sundays River Valley Local Municipality.