Edith Hobson Hoffman (1890-1970) is a member of the Hobson family, early settlers in the area now called Ventura County. Edith’s grandfather, William Dewey Hobson (1829-1915), was considered the “Father of Ventura County”. He was selected to lobby Sacramento for the creation of the county in 1872 and built prominent buildings in Ventura, some of which are still standing. He also worked as a justice of the peace, briefly owned a local newspaper, and he wrote a history of Ventura County in 1876. Edith graduated from Ventura High School in 1909. She traveled extensively in Europe and the Middle East and upon her return, she married Walter H. Hoffman (1887-1955).

Edith Hobson Hoffman had an avid interest in California history. She was one of the founders of the Museum of Ventura County in 1913, took part in the movement to preserve the Ortega Adobe, commissioned paintings of the California Missions, petitioned for the canonization of Padre Junipero Serra and established the Walter H. Hoffman Jr. Memorial Book Fund for the Ventura County Historical Society. This fund was used to publish The Letters of José Señán, compiled correspondence written by Padre Señán while he lived at Mission San Buenaventura from 1796 to 1823. After Edith’s death in 1970, her children Katherine Louise and Walter William, donated land in her name to the Museum of Ventura County and then helped to raise 650,000 dollars to establish the museum in its current form.