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History · Hoffman

Half of Hoffman’s homes were built after 1992

Most of Hoffman was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1900.

0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hoffman’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

Where Hoffman’s name came from

How did Hoffman get its name?

Hoffman was named for a family of settlers.

Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What stands out about Hoffman’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 624 in 2000; 418 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · People over time

Hoffman, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 624

Peaked at 624 in 2000; 418 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hoffman’s Wikipedia page.

The story so far

Hoffman, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hoffman yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Hoffman is a town in Richmond County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Hoffman had a population of 418. It was named for a family of settlers.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 588 to 418 (-29%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Hoffman, 1936 to 2000

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1936In the archiveNative and buggy
  3. 1940In the archiveHoffman, N.C. Boxes of dried blood plasma stored in a cabinet inside the operating tent w…
  4. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 21st century
  6. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 624
By decade

Hoffman, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1940s5 items
Native and buggy1936Native and buggyNative and buggy1936Native and buggyUntitled photo, possibly related to: Native and buggy1936Untitled photo, possibly related to: Native and buggyHoffman, N.C. Boxes of dried blood plasma stored in a cabinet inside the operating tent which was set up during the Car…1940Hoffman, N.C. Boxes of dried blood plasma stored in a…Hoffman, N.C. Boxes of dried blood plasma stored in a cabinet inside the operating tent which was set up during the Car…1942Hoffman, N.C. Boxes of dried blood plasma stored in a…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Hoffman on the map, 1949 to 2002

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hoffman. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Hoffman on the 1949 USGS mapHoffman on the 1957 USGS mapHoffman on the 1976 USGS mapHoffman on the 1982 USGS mapHoffman on the 2002 USGS map1949Hoffman sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hoffman.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Native and buggy
Retake this viewNative and buggy, 1936

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hoffman’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Hoffman

Nobody well known was born in Hoffman itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
John ColtraneAmerican jazz saxophonist · b. 1926
Vince McMahonAmerican professional wrestling promoter · b. 1945
William S. McArthurUnited States Army Colonel and NASA astronaut · b. 1951
Woody ShawAmerican musician · b. 1944
Charles E. Brady Jr.American astronaut · b. 1951
Ben VereenAmerican actor, dancer, and singer · b. 1946
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Hoffman High Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Hoffman
Blue

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Hoffman’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNative and buggy: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Hoffman’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (5), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.