Swellendam is the third oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town and Stellenbosch) and named in honour of Governor Hendrik Swellengrebel and his wife Helena, nče Ten Damme.
In order to apply control over farmers who had moved away from the settled areas the Governor decided to place the territory across the Breede River under the jurisdiction of a local court and in 1747 the Drostdy was built as the seat of the Landdrost (magistrate)