Jacob Hoffman was an early settler in Black Hawk County and the prototype for Wayne Lockwood in Bess Streeter Aldridge's 1939 novel Song of Years. Aldridge related stories of early Sturgis Falls, now Cedar Falls, including Hoffman's 100 mile walk from Black Hawk County to Dubuque in 1854 to file for his homestead in Bennington Township. He built a 12 by 20 foot cabin on land purchased for $1.25 per acre. The cabin housed Hoffman, his wife Sarah, six of their eight children, and two hired men, 10 persons in all.