​Wepener, a town of the Orange Free State, 82 m. by rail S.E. of Bloemfontein, and 2 m. W. of the Basuto border. Pop. (1904) 1366, of whom 822 were whites. It lies in a rich grain district, and 3 m. north by the Caledon river are large flour mills. The town, named after the leader of the Boers in their war with the Basuto chief Moshesh in 1863, was founded in 1888. In April 1900 it was successfully defended against the Boers under Christiaan de Wet by a Cape force of Irregulars commanded by Colonel E. H. Dalgety.