The ground on which Mayville is situated was originally part of the Drostdy property before it was sold to the Cape government in 1846. The property on the south-western side of the old highway, which included the Drostdy building, was bought by Daniel de Bruyn for 1350 pounds.
mayville_frontDe Bruyn lived there for a few years then divided the lower part of the property into six portions and sold five of these plots in 1853. He built the house known as Mayville on the plot which he had kept for himself.
From this time it changed hands many times, but in 1974 the Drostdy Museum received Mayville in a bequest from Nita Steyn. Over the next few years extensive restoration of the building as well as redecoration of the interior was undertaken. It was officially opened to the public as a house museum in 1978