[4] For thousands of years, the area was roamed by Bushman bands, and then was used as grazing by the nomadic Khoikhoi, who called the Buffalo River Qonce.

Xhosa people lived alongside the Khoikhoi eventually taking over the land after Queen Hoho lost the war with King Ngqika kaMlawu.

Many of the colonists in the neighbouring districts are descendants of members of the British German Legion disbanded after the Crimean War and provided with homes in the Cape Colony; hence such names as Berlin, Braunschweig, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Potsdam and Stutterheim given to settlements in this part of the country.

[8] The area's economy depended on cattle and sheep ranching, and the town itself has a large industrial base producing textiles, soap, candles, sweets, cartons and clothing.

In September 2020 the Eastern Cape government announced plans to give the city a new name as part of what it described as a programme aimed at transforming the country's geographic landscape to be more representative of its people.