Early Settlers
Archaeological findings suggest the area, which Sandton comprises today, had originally been occupied by various indigenous groups, before European settlement. Most notably the Tswana people. The first of the Voortrekkers to settle in the area were those of the Esterhuysens of Zandfontein. A monument to commemorate them may be found just off Adrienne Street. In the 1870s the Wilhelmi family of Hanover, Germany acquired the farm Driefontein No.3. Driefontein along with the farms Rietfontein and Zandfontein encumbered what is today Sandton. Their original home, now within the confines of the Field & Study Centre, was looted during the Anglo-Boer War. Their 1906 Parkmore farmhouse served as the icon for the Sandton Historical Foundation. The Ehler family owned Rietfontein farm.
1960s
The municipality was established as an extension of the city in 1969, after Johannesburg began to expand northwards. Initially it was very much a residential area consisting mostly of small holdings. This rural "horsey" lifestyle of Sandton gave it the image of being a smart address. It was dubbed the "mink and manure" belt of Johannesburg.
1990s
After the demise of apartheid and the manifestation of the new political dispensation, Sandton first became part of the Eastern Metropolitan Substructure, and later became part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality following new demarcations put forward by the government, and it no longer has a separate municipal government
