Long-time resident of Beavercreek Julie Hoffman shares her ties with the area spanning 100 years. It began with her great-grandfather Richard Simms who purchased their timber farm in 1909. “He cleared one acre of timber each year he lived here. Farmed the cleared land, half-timber and half-cleared land,” she said.

Having lived in Beavercreek all her life, Julie is grateful that her family has been able to continue the tradition of farming. Living on the farm that her dad grew up on is meaningful to Julie as she looks back at the history of where it started. 

“Richard and Cora Simms settled here in 1909. Their daughter Thelma Simms married another Beavercreek local named Ed Hoffman, my grandparents. Ed’s parents had come to the area around the same time as the Simms. In the 1920s Ed was hired by the Beavercreek Coop to run the store at Beavercreek. He ran the store until his death, over 50 years. They used to receive berries from the local farms and Grandpa would truck the berries to the cannery in Gresham. This is when most people produced berries or other crops.”

Julie’s dad, Robert “Bob” Hoffman in front of the store with his brother. No date provided.

In the 1940s Ed and Thelma Hoffman started a raw milk dairy. They delivered milk in glass bottles and the family ran the dairy until the 1970s. Since then the family has been farming berries, Christmas trees and timber.

“As time has changed, most of [Beavercreek] has become a bedroom community. As the years went by it was hard to support the family on our own land and we at one time were renting and crop-shared land to farm.”

When asked what her favorite thing about Beavercreek is, she said “I love the history.” 

Julie and her mom – along with her many nieces and nephews that keep her busy on the farm – hold a significant place in Beavercreek’s history, not only because of their ability to farm the same land since 1909, but also because the land has been supporting the family for a long time.

Photo of Bob Hoffman, circa 1952.

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Interview by Jenn Logan. Is there another Beavercreek resident that you’d like to see in the Spotlight? Email editor@beavercreek.org.