August Hoffman, a 45-year-old German immigrant and bookbinder, built this handsome two and a half story town house at 2215 Cherokee in 1893 for an estimated cost of $3,000. He was one of many tradesmen who took great care to build well designed and crafted homes in South St. Louis. While Hoffman was planning and building his impressive home on Cherokee, another German South St. Louisan, Otto Barby, left his parents and sister in South St. Louis and headed west. In the spring of 1893, Barby took part in the last of the Oklahoma land rushes, which settled the Oklahoma panhandle. Hoffman moved into the new house with his wife Maria, their son August Junior, and daughters Frieda and Bertha. Their son became a jeweler and moved to the adjacent home at 2217 Cherokee. The Hoffman family lived here and raised the next generation of their family on this block. The family called this place home when, in 1917, the United States declared war on the Central Powers in Europe, ensuring the defeat of Germany. Out west, Barby kept working and expanding his ranch until it covered tens and thousands of acres. While Barby left his ranch to his descendants, the Hoffman family left a beautiful piece of architecture to future generations of St. Louisans.
