The Potgieter family has a deeply rooted history in Smithfield, with descendants of the first Potgieters still living in the area today.

Isaac Cornelis Potgieter, the patriarch of the family in the region, settled on the farm Burnetskop in the mid-1800s. His descendants gradually spread throughout the entire region, including to farms such as Vinkelfontein, Sunnyside, and Sweetwater near Wepener.

The original farmhouse on Burnetskop still stands today and carries historical significance — during the Anglo-Boer War, it was used by the British army as an important outpost. Precisely for this reason, it survived the British scorched-earth policy and now serves as a tangible reminder of both the family's history and the region's role in South Africa's past.