Jens Hofgaard at Hoen - a proprietor and his use

Jens Hofgaard was among Drammen's largest lumber merchants for several decades. He owned sawmills in Ringerike, Modum and Eiker, but chose to concentrate his business on the Hoenselva to an increasing extent. He is known for having built the large cart at Hoensbruket, and it was he who commissioned the famous "Hoenspokal" from Nøstetangen glassworks. But he was also behind an extensive regulation of the Hoensvassdraget, including through the construction of Himsjødammen.

The last decades of the 18th century were a golden age for lumber trade and sawmill operations in Eiker.

It was the heyday of the "trading patriciate", also called the "plank nobility". Perhaps the best known is Jørgen von Cappelen, who built Fossesholm Manor as a memorial to himself. Another of the great lumber merchants was Jens Hofgaard, owner of the farm Øvre Hoen with underlying delights, including the water rights in the Hoenselva. His predecessors had also expanded the sawmill operation quite significantly by transferring quota grants from sawmills they owned further up the Drammensvassdraget. But Hofgaard continued this strategy, and he ensured sufficient water flow through a purposeful and comprehensive regulation of the entire watercourse.