The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

HOFFMAN.

Situated in east-central Okmulgee County, Hoffman was named for W. Hoffman, the vice president of the Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway. (However, historian George H. Shirk asserts that the town was named for Oklahoma City attorney Roy V. Hoffman.) The community lies one mile south of U.S. Highway 266 on County Roads E1050/N4030. A post office was established there on December 18, 1905. The town was initially located in McIntosh County until part of that county was annexed by Okmulgee County in 1918. Less than one mile from the Deep Fork River, the town is surrounded by woods on the south and west and prairie to the north and east.

Farmers in the area have grown cotton, corn, and pecans, and raised livestock. In addition, the local resources of oil, gas, and lumber have been partially developed. In 1909 the citizens supported Baptist and Methodist Episcopal churches, a public school, two banks, two cotton gins, and three saw mills. A cotton gin continued to operate in the 1930s. In the early part of the twentieth century newspapers included the Hoffman Herald and the Hoffman Observer.

By 1907 statehood Hoffman's population stood at 344. By 1910 the number had dwindled to 307, but it rose to a peak population of 432, reported in 1940. In 2000 Hoffman had 148 citizens but no public schools. The 2010 census counted 127 residents. Outdoor enthusiasts could enjoy nearby Lake Eufaula and the Eufaula Wildlife Management Area. The April 2020 census reported 83 inhabitants.

Lynn Marie Townsend