The suburb of Dobsonville in Soweto, South Africa, originated from the forced removals of residents from the “old location” in Roodepoort between 1955 and 1967. The area became known as Dobsonville following these removals, serving as a new settlement for displaced communities. The suburb was formerly under the Roodepoort Municipality until 1994, when it was merged with Soweto[3].
In a different context, there was also a community named Dobsonville in Vernon, Connecticut, USA, which developed around Peter Dobson’s cotton spinning mill established in the early 19th century. However, this Dobsonville never became a fully established village and primarily served as an informal designation for the area surrounding the mill[1]. The Dobsonville in Connecticut stands as a historical reference, in contrast to the more prominent suburb in South Africa[5].
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