Ivy Dale Farm
a.k.a. Ivy Green;Hoffecker Farm
S of Smyrna off DE 9, Smyrna, DEIvy Dale Farm is situated on a tract that was originally a portion of "Pearman's Choice," granted by William Penn to Henry Pearman in 1684. Although Pearman subsequently sold much of the original tract, a portion descended to his daughter, who sold the land to William Cahoon.
In 1748 Cahoon sold his land to John Joy. By 1786 a house was located on the property, for John Joy willed to his sons the land "on which he dwelt." The land was described as "three contiguous pieces of Pearman's Choice, bought by three different claimers." In 1817 the property, known as a "mansion plantation," descended to Edward Joy Morris.
In 1837 Edward Joy Morris sold the Edward Joy farm to Joseph Hoffecker, a descendant of Henry Hoffecker, a German immigrant who
settled near Smyrna. Joseph Hoffecker realized considerable prosperity from the farmlands. Thus, in 1845 he rebuilt the Joy house to suit his improved position.
When Joseph Hoffecker died in 1851, the farm, then called "Ivy Green," was inherited by John H. Hoffecker, a leading entrepreneur in the Smyrna area, known for his fruit-canning business. "Ivy Green" consisted of two hundred twenty-five acres, planted mostly in fruit trees. John H. Hoffecker served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, and as speaker of the Delaware House of Representatives.
In 1877 Walter 0. Hoffecker became manager of his father's farmlands. At the death of John H. Hoffecker in 1900, Walter Hoffecker
gained outright control. Like his father, Walter Hoffecker was prominent in public affairs; he too served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, having filled the vacancy left by the death of his father.
During the first half of the twentieth century, the farm now known as "Ivy Dale", passed out of the hands of the Hoffecker family.
Nevertheless, the house still stands amid the fields of a working farm.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.