We know that at some point it was operated by John French, and then his son Alonzo French, and then by men named Vander Heyden, Bradshaw, and McKee. Van Epps says that he doesn’t know whether John Hoffman ever actually operated the ferry or just leased it out. A postal history indicates that it was a post office from 1838-1892, and just as Hoffmans from 1892 to 1975. The service, and Van Epps doesn’t describe the mechanics of it, was known as Vedders Ferry until 1835, when it was sold to John Hoffman, and the little hamlet in Glenville became known as Hoffmans Ferry, “thus often called today, though the official name of its post office is simply, Hoffmans.” In fact, an 1889 Bullinger’s Postal and Shipping Guide identifies Hoffmans Ferry as the central railroad stop for Glenville. Vedder lived on the other side, in what is now Pattersonville. Van Epps says that it was Harmanus Vedder who established the ferry service across the Mohawk. It was here that late in the 18 th century the Church of the Woestina, simply Dutch for wilderness, was established. He built a sawmill there, and his son built cement kilns and a mill. His holdings were transferred to his son-in-law, Johannes Van Eps, who established a home near Hoffmans in 1721.
Glenville historian Percy Van Epps, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude for this series of posts, noted that the first settler to come to the vicinity of Hoffmans was Karel Haensen Toll, sometime around 1700, until 1712. But at one time, it was an important connection point for Glenville. Hoffmans is one of those places that, during our lifetime, always used to be a place, a name from history that probably couldn’t have been identified as anything, not even a hamlet, were it not for this historical marker. We posted this marker for Hoffmans on our Instagram account ( a little while back.
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