History of Usakos

A Mr Jansen bought land from Maherero, son of Tjimuaha, the place was called Usakos. Usakos is Damara and means "grab the forehead". In 1900 the Otavi Minen and Eisenbahngesellschaft (OMEG) build a railway line from Swakopmund to Tsumeb. In 1905, they bought the land from Mr Jansen and then build a railway station. On the banks of the Khan River, railway engineers created a watering place for locomotives and for passengers on the eastern end of the Namib Desert. The town grew in spite of the heat into a village with lime works, a few shops and a hotel.